Geass Rider Zero Knight
by kyugan
Summary: Lelouch Lamperouge had grown bored of the humdrum cycle that had become his life. Little did he expect to be drawn into a world of combat and intrigue, which lurked just beyond the looking glass. Let's Ride. Harem, pairings undecided as of yet
1. Chapter 1

The following is a work of fiction, dedicated as a new years gift to my good buddy Sketchfan.

Lelouch: You've been doing that a lot recently.

Kyugan: Good friends are worth going that extra mile for.

Kallen: (Off camera) C.C, does this make my ass look big?

C.C: Yes.

Kallen: Bitch.

Kyugan: Now now, no cat-fighting off camera, I need time to set up the mud-pit.

Kallen: Screw you! Not that I would!

Kyugan: Story of my life (Sighs, then holds up an advent deck towards the camera) Let's ride.

* * *

Prologue: First Ride.

A woman walked hurriedly towards her car, cursing herself for allowing her superior into convincing her to stay behind so late. It wasn't as if she was going to be paid overtime either, the old miser was more likely to charge her for wasting precious electricity, despite the fact she had finally completed the documentation he had failed to complete despite a week of procrastination.

'Stuck up old geezer…' she muttered, shaking her head in disgust as her heels clacked audibly in the underground parking lot 'Just because he's related to some minor noble, he thinks he can act like the bloody Emperor.'

Not that she'd ever say as much to his face. Like it or not, the man was the one who signed her paycheck, and quite a considerable sum it was too. True, once she saved up enough, she was planning to jump ship anyways, possibly even open up a firm of her own, but for the moment, it was best to keep your head down and smile.

'Who knows…' she mused, nodding her head towards the night watchman, who returned the gesture, his eyes glued to the small portable television he kept inside his office, a take-away bowl of ramen on his lap as he slurped up the noodles and broth, watching a replay of this morning's football match 'Maybe I'll compete directly with him, lord knows he can't file anything to save his life, so I might just end up buying him out-!'

She whipped round, a can of mace held in her hand as she glared at her surroundings, having heard a small noise, like a footstep, right behind her.

Keeping the can of pervert repellent aloft, the woman eyed the deserted parking lot for a few seconds, before sighing, the tension going out of her shoulders as she lowered the can in relief.

A pair of arms wrapped around her, a scaly hand covering her mouth before she could scream, the woman's eyes widening in terror as she was dragged, kicking and screaming, backwards into a car window, which rippled with a liquid touch, as if someone had tossed a pebble into a pool.

The Security guard, shutting off the television with a groan of disappointment, as his team had been utterly trashed in the first half, looked up at the sound of the scuffle, his brows furrowing as he stepped out of his office, a hand on his gun holster.

"Hello?" he called out, features grim as he stepped out into the deserted space, eyes scanning the darkness for any suspicious movements "Is anyone there?"

The revving of a motorcycle engine cut through the air, followed by a high pitched squeal, several rather, the Watchman looking on in shock as a strange, bipedal creature flew out of a car window, rolling across the asphalt in a battered heap, only to gape as a motorcycle followed it, coming to a halt in a patch of light.

The rider of the machine was dressed in a dark, black and purple bodysuit, which in turn was covered in plates of black armor. Beneath his mantle, which the guard noted seemed to move with a life of it's own, lines of purple energy flowed over the metal of his armor, as if feeding power to it somehow.

Under one arm the rider of the bike held the dazed, terrified looking woman that had been pulled into the window. He promptly dropped her, the woman scuttling away from the bike in terror to crouch next to her vehicle, her legs to weak to support her.

"Stay back…" the rider ordered, speaking not only to the woman, but the stunned security guard, who was gaping at the rider in disbelief "I'll handle this."

The creature, which resembled a man in that it was bipedal and roughly human-shaped, pulled itself to it's feet, letting out a dangerous growl, the woman whimpering in fear as several others joined it, stepping out of the shadows, standing crouched over, the weird, cross like objects on their backs clanking audibly.

The rider, as if unimpressed by the reinforcements, simply revved the engine of his machine, daring the monstrosities to come to him. Come they did, leaping towards rider and machine like wild animals, some of them going for the objects on their backs, most of them simply bum-rushing the rider from all angles.

The rider simply released the brake on his machine, performing a reverse-wheelie the rear wheel of the machine rising up as he spun like a top, knocking the assailants out of the air with a combination of the rear tire's rotation and several well placed kicks, those monsters which were struck by the assault flying backwards though the air, crashing into the floor and walls, only to dissolve into dust.

Dropping to the floor once agai, the rider dropped the kick stand and flipped off his ride, moving towards the remaining monsters with a determined air, one gloved hand reaching towards his belt, extracting what looked like a card, which he promptly slashed through a reader on his right arm.

**"SWORD VENT!"**

Abruptly, a sword materialized out of thin air, the rider's hand closing around the gilded hilt, as the crimson blade seemed to glow in the dim light of the parking lot. The surviving monsters, probably driven to desperation by the death of their kin, charged as one, only to be hacked down as the rider deployed both fencing and martial arts to reduce them to little more than dust on the air.

When the last monster fell, it's fading shriek a dying echo on the wind, the Rider stilled, his sword vanishing in a flash of light, before turning to face his captive audience, the sole, opaque lens of his hawk-like mask boring into them, like some demonic cyclops. Beneath the lens lay a glyph in the shape of a bird in flight, the symbol stretching up the sides of the helmet, in a thin, mockery of a smile.

"You saw nothing here…" the rider ordered, his modulated voice deep and commanding, as he looked between the woman and the guard "You slipped and hit your head…and you were having a bad dream."

"Right…dream…" the guard murmured, honestly too stunned by what he'd just seen to do anything but nod in disbelief. The woman, who by now had recovered enough energy to stand, simply nodded mutely, standing closer to the guard, and by proxy his revolver, as she did so.

The rider nodded, before turning back to his machine, mounting the black cycle and raising the kick stand, before tearing off, riding out of the car park, his mantle flowing behind him like wings as he rode off into the night, leaving a trail of purple light in his wake.

* * *

And that'll do so far as the prologue goes.

I started working on this idea several months back, after brainstorming with my good buddy, Sketchfan, as i have with most of my more recent works. While I'm certain that there are others that have combined the Kamen Rider Franchise with this series, this is not an attempt to jump on the bandwagon.

And for those who were wondering, yes, that IS the Zero armor from the Nightmare of Nunnally manga. Something about that version of Zero practically screamed Kamen rider, and so I've encorporated him as an actual rider for the series.

His Advent Deck has the Geass Symbol on the cover, and his card reader is built into his right arm (The cards vanish upon being read, possibly shuffled back into the deck).

here's hoping this goes over well, ne?


	2. Chapter 2

As stated earlier, I had intended for this fic to be posted on New Year's, however circumstances, and computer hogging siblings, prevented me from doing so.

Kallen: I still think this is rather silly, how are Kamen Riders supposed to stand up to Knightmare frames?

Kyugan: Oh ye of little faith, don't you know the legend of the Kamen Riders? They make Miracles happen!

C.C: You stole that From Ten-Faced-Paladin.

Kyugan: Erg...either way, it's not important, because this is set in the MANGA version, there aren't any Knightmare frames.

Kallen: Say what?! THen how in the hell did Britannia conquer Japan?

Kyugan: A little known strategy that works wonders when you have superior numbers, I believe it's called *cluster f-cking* by the millitary top brass.

C.C: You stole that from TeamSupeSharu...

(HEADSHOT!)

Kyugan: (Glares down at C.C's corpse, lowers his colt python) details details...on with the show.

Lelouch: I could care less about your stoeln one-liners, If these Kamen Riders can perform miracles, then it is only fitting that I...I mean Zero, be known as one.

Kyugan: (Nervous) Uh yeah...about that...

* * *

Geass Rider Zero Knight.

Chapter 1: The Masked Rider.

_Imperial Calendar, August 10__th__, 2010._

_The Holy Empire of Britannia declared open war against the nation of Japan. The declaration was made without warning, the far East Island Nation swiftly being overrun. Within less than a month Japan had fallen into the Empire's hands._

_Following this crushing defeat, the Japanese people found themselves stripped of their dignity, their freedom, rights, even their Nationality._

'_Area 11'…the new name that Britannia, in their act of cruelty, bestowed upon the once proud nation of Japan._

_Many skeptics had questioned how the country had fallen so swiftly, as while Britannia did possess the advantage in terms of resources, Japan was still an advanced nation with an impressive military, not to mention one of the most advanced innovators in regards to new technologies._

_Britannia, naturally, played it up regarding their 'natural superiority', claiming that it was only natural they conquered such a race of 'primitives'. Many others attributed the country's fall to the suicide of Prime Minister Kururugi Genbu, who took his own life, leaving his country to fend for itself._

_Other's still, mostly the veterans that survived the occupation, spoke of ghastly monsters that had swooped in behind their lines, dragging off their comrades, paving the path for Britannia's occupation…_

* * *

_**Seven years later…Tokyo Settlement...**_

"And that's Checkmate…" a young, cultured voice declared, a slender hand moving the Black King piece to claim it's opposing twin on the white side. The speaker, a tall, thin teen dressed in a black school Uniform of the local academy, sat back in his seat, his hands folded across his lap as the shocked whispers broke out amongst the onlookers. The teen's ebony locks framed a slim, almost regal face, set with deep purple eyes, which were smiling at his opponent, an opulent Britannian noble, who was having a hard time accepting he'd just been trounced, at chess no less, by a teen more than half his age.

"Now then…" the teen spoke up, his tone confident, and subtly mocking, as he stood from his seat, smiling down at the dumbstruck noble "as promised, I expect to be paid three times the rate."

"Who…who are you?!" the nobleman gaped, his once mocking, derisive eyes tearing away from the chess board to gaze up at the teen he, not even ten minutes ago, had dismissed as simply an overconfident youth, who was already walking away, a blue haired youth at his side "Tell me your name!"

"My name?" the teen asked, inclining his head slightly to regard the man with an impassive stare, as if he really could care less "Lelouch, Lelouch Lamperouge."

* * *

"Man these aristocrats are pathetic!" Rivalz Cardemonde exclaimed, the blue haired Britannian grinning up at Lelouch as the latter joined him at their mode of transport, a motorcycle with sidecar, the ebony haired teen clambering into the sidecar as Rivalz fired up the engine "Still, at least they have the pride to pay their debts." He grinned at the chess prodigy "Not only did we clean up nicely, but you set a new record, Eight minutes and thirty-two seconds!"

"I won because my opponent WAS a Britannian noble." Lelouch countered, strapping on his helmet with a look of detached disgust "They make the mistake of assuming the military's might reflects their own, and as such, make apathetic moves."

"Heh…that's not something I'd expect to hear from a fellow Britannian." Rivalz noted with a wry, nervous smile, though truth be told he didn't think much of the matter, as this wasn't the first time Lelouch had voiced his disapproval of the way things were. It didn't hurt that so far, at least when it came to the nobles they bested, the elder Lamperouge was usually right on the money.

"So what's after this?" he asked, smiling eagerly down at the chess prodigy as they pulled out onto the main highway "Shall we hit another gambling spot? Maybe rake in a little more spending money?"

"Sorry, can't today." Lelouch countered, the teen pulling out a small novel, opening it and resuming where he'd left off, a detached expression on his face "I promised Nunnally we'd go shopping together."

"And we all know you couldn't break a promise with Nunnally to save you life." Rivalz grinned, revving the engine again as he sped along the highway "Ah well, there's always tomorrow I suppose."

* * *

"Yeah…" Lelouch muttered, his tone non-committal as he lost himself in the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, his eyes half lidded as he reclined in the sidecar, lost in his thoughts 'The same tried routine…at first there was the thrill of getting caught, but with how these nobles value their pride, it'd do them no good to draw attention to themselves, let alone the fact they lost to a student.'

Truth be told, Lelouch was beginning to tire of this almost static routine. The so called nobles that the current Viceroy, Clovis la Britannia, had surrounded himself with, were the kind that put more value on prestige and titles than common sense and decency, simpering after the blonde Viceroy, stoking his already considerable ego instead of offering advice, as they were supposed to.

Not that Clovis' ego needed much encouragement, for god's sake, the man dedicated a theme park to himself. Admittedly, the park WAS a brilliant place to spend the time, if you enjoyed such things, but the last thing the elder Lamperouge needed was to see his half-brother's face plastered wherever he went, the statue of the man at the Academy made him sick enough as it was.

Lelouch blinked, looking up from one of Holmes' astute observations as a shadow fell over him, the elder Lamperouge noting that they were no longer on the main highway.

"Rivalz." He called out, looking around in concern as they rode through the Shinjuku ghetto, eyeing the anti-Britannian propaganda in trepidation "You're going the wrong way."

"The main highway was closed off because of an accident." Rivalz countered, his tone apologetic, and a little nervous, as he steered the bike through the slums "This way's faster than the detour they showed…but man, these ghetto's aren't anything like the Settlements, are they?"

'Ghettos' was the term used to refer to the ruined areas where the Japanese, or rather, the Elevens lived. They were composed of the burned out husks of the former Japanese cities and towns, the ruins of towering skyscrapers and towers casting a grim picture of just how harsh things had become for the once proud Island Nation.

While most of the residents preferred to keep out of sight, rather than risk the ire of their occupiers, the Ghetto's were also the stomping grounds of the numerous resistance cells that opposed the Britannian Empire, and they weren't to particular of who they 'made and example of'.

"Just hurry up and get us out of here." Lelouch muttered, the elder Lamperouge suppressing a nervous chill as he put his book away, keeping an eye out for anything that might be deemed suspicious.

"Will do…eh?" Rivalz stammered, blinking as his bike began to slow down, the blue haired teen letting out a groan of disbelief as he gazed at the power charge "Dammit…the batteries are dead? But I just replaced them yesterday!"

Lelouch frowned, eyeing the ghettos in suspicion as he reached for his cell phone. Loath as he was to rely on the Britannian forces for anything, it was still smarter to contact the police than to leave themselves defenseless in the ghetto.

Sadly, his attempts would be for naught, as he stared at the empty bar on his cell phone, right before the whole thing shut off.

'What's going on?' Lelouch wondered, his eyes narrowing in confusion, even as Rivalz tried to get his machine to work 'I know for a fact I charged it this morning…it was still fully charged when we went to the gambling hall…' he shivered in apprehension, eyeing the shadows warily 'Could it be…a new weapon?'

"I'm going to see if I can find a pay phone." Lelouch called out, stepping out of the side car while Rivalz started fiddling with the bike's engine, desperately trying to get the machine to work so they could clear out "Stay here, I'll be right back."

"Lelouch!" Rivalz called out, looking after the taller teen in concern, before shivering, eyeing the shadows of the ghetto nervously "Man…hurry back alright?"

* * *

'It's so quiet…' Lelouch muttered, moving swiftly, but cautiously through the ruined streets that had once been known as Shinjuku 'I know the Japanese tend to avoid the public eye…but it's not like the Military Police patrol this area…'

Truth be told, it was starting to appear like the elder Lamperouge had walked right into a horror movie, he kept expecting to hear an eerie track start up around him, or better still, have some faceless horror leap out at him from the shadows.

'This is ridiculous…' he muttered, shaking his head in disgust 'It's just a bunch of dilapidated buildings, more than likely the residents cleared out because they were likely to collapse-!'

Sudden movement out of his peripheral vision caused him to spin round, hands groping for something to throw or use as a weapon, only to relax, releasing a shaky sigh as he stared at his own reflection in the dirty, dusty glass of an abandoned department store window.

'Jumping at shadows…how childish.' He mocked, shaking his head in wry amusement as he patted himself down, taking another, calming breath, before turning on his heel, deciding that enough was enough, and that he and Rivalz were getting the hell out of here, even if they had to abandon the latter's precious bike. It wasn't worth getting killed over after all.

The moment the teen turned his back however, long, sinuous threads erupted from the window behind him, the Elder Lamperouge gaping as the webbing, for indeed, it did resemble a spiders thread, latched onto his clothes and hair with startling strength.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed, thrashing wildly, looking back over his shoulder, only to gape in horror at the image reflected in the mirror, which seemed to ripple, as if made of flowing water.

A massive, armored arachnid stood behind him, or rather, stood behind his reflection, because Lelouch certainly couldn't see it standing in front of him, it's long threads lashing out from it's abdomen as it chattered ominously. Surprisingly, where the spider's head would have rested, a human-shaped torso was set atop the arachnid body, complete with a set of clawed hands, and masked face, set with multiple eyes.

"It's…a monster…!" the teen gasped, struggling vainly to extract himself from the gossamer thread, only to find that, despite it's fragile appearance, it had the strength of iron bonds, as he was more likely to rip his hair out than extract himself from it.

With a sudden heave, the spider hauled the elder Lamperouge off his feet, the teen letting out a frightened yell as he rushed towards the window, eyes closed as he braced himself for the impact.

* * *

"Lelouch?" Rivalz called out, the teen looking around in concern, standing next to his silent motorcycle, his hands cupped around his mouth as he yelled into the sinister shadows of the ruined ghetto "Are you okay out there? C'mon, we gotta get outta here!"

"You there!" a loud, imperious voice called out, the youth flinching, half expecting to see a murderous Eleven standing behind him, only to sigh in relief as he stared down the barrel of a Britannian military officer's handgun, several armed soldiers lined up behind the man, their rifles at the ready "What are you doing here? This is a restricted area!"

"Sorry sir!" the blue haired teen offered, keeping his hands up to show he wasn't a threat, though how anyone could assume he was a threat was beyond him "My friend and I broke down while trying to cut through the Ghetto, the main road was blocked off and we were late for class."

"Lord Jeremiah." A second voice called out, Rivalz and the man turning to look at a tall, dusky skinned woman with blue hair and golden eyes. Or rather, the man turned to see her, and Rivalz's mind just switched off as he gaped at her breasts "He appears to be telling the truth, the main road was shut down on account of this morning's terrorist incident, and he does appear to be a member of the Ashford academy."

"So it would appear," the officer, the apparent Lord Jeremiah noted, holstering his firearm before turning to frown at Rivalz "You said your friend was with you? Where is he?"

"Huh? OH!" Rivalz exclaimed, snapping out of his breast induced daze to gape at the green haired officer, missing the look of disapproval on the woman's face, as she'd caught him staring "He went off to look for a payphone, we couldn't get a signal out here, but he hasn't come back yet."

"Right then," Jeremiah muttered, nodding towards the dusky skinned woman "Villetta, please escort this youth out of here." He turned his attention to a tall, brown haired man that stood on the woman's left "Kewel, you come with me."

"Come on you." Villetta ordered, the dark skinned woman placing a firm hand on Rivalz's shoulder, pushing him, none to gently we might add, towards the nearest exit "Let's get you out of here."

"Um…what about my bike?" Rivalz asked hesitantly, looking over his shoulder in concern, though he was staring at the departing troops, rather than his vehicle, praying to whatever gods that were listening that Lelouch was alright.

"We'll have the troops retrieve it…IF you quit lollygagging." Villetta assured him, smirking to herself as this succeeded in getting the kid to haul ass out of the ghetto 'That'll teach him…' she muttered, feeling a little vindicated after catching him staring at her earlier 'Good grief, it's not like I chose this uniform.'

* * *

While Rivalz was being taught the error of his perverted, albeit harmlessly so, ways, Lelouch was bracing himself for the impact with the store window, praying to whatever god that was listening that the inevitable impact would be swift. If he were lucky, the sharks of glass would cut him loose from his gossamer prison, though more than likely the lacerations he received would only encumber his escape.

Either way, it was both a relief, and a shock, as rather than smashing into window pane, the elder Lamperouge experienced a feeling akin to slipping into a pool of water, blinking as he sank into the glass surface like a pebble into a lake, leaving a ripple in his wake, save that he was perfectly dry.

'What is this?' he wondered, his purple eyes widening in disbelief as he gaped at the weird, prism like lights that shone around him, like a kaleidoscope of colours. He thought he could make out countless reflections of himself, as if he were standing between a multitude of mirrors, only to yelp as he was expelled through the reflective portal once again, the ripple closing behind him even as his shoulder landed on the sidewalk, the teen grunting in pain from the collision, flinching as he cracked one eye open to gaze up at his captor.

Up close, the spider creature was truly a sight to behold, standing well over ten feet tall, and covered from head to foot in gold and silver armor. It's mandibles, set in an otherwise human shaped face, clacked ominously as it towered over the teen, the legs dancing skittishly as it moved towards him, an alien, unreadable expression in the countless eyes that decorated it's armored face.

'So this…is how I die?' the elder Lamperouge wondered, his eyes wide as his life flashed before them, time seeming to slow down around him as he listened to the metallic footsteps draw closer.

Scenes from his childhood at the Aries villa flashed before him in rapid succession, from playing with Nunnally and Euphemia whilst Cornelia watched over him, to sitting on his mother's lap, the empress stroking his hair soothingly.

His many chess matches against Clovis, during which he trounced the elder prince, were followed by memories of Schneizel handing him defeat after defeat at the exact same game. He recalled defending Nunnally from their half-sister, Carline, who was the blind girl's opposite in a number of ways, and horse riding with his eldest brother, Odysseus, who while plebeian and indecisive compared to Schneizel, was nontheless a kind, gentle man, who'd doted on his younger siblings to the point of excess.

The good and the bad washed over him, from his first meeting with the confident Milly Ashford, where she bestowed upon him the moniker 'Lulu', their tearful separation following the assassination of his mother, and their reunion after the war, when her grandfather, Reuben Ashford, had enrolled him and Nunnally at the academy.

He saw Nunnally's smiling, cheerful eyes gazing up at him in adoration, her weeping, sightless face as she realized she would never walk again, and her gentle, comforting smile as she made him 'pinkie swear', just the previous night.

'Am I…going to die…without doing anything useful with my life?' the Elder Lamperouge wondered, recalling how impotent he'd felt when his father, Emperor Charles zi Britannia, had all but thrown him, and his crippled sister, to the wolves 'Nunnally…what's going to happen to Nunnally?!'

Staring up at his foe, Lelouch vi Britannia, eleventh prince of the empire, and seventeenth in line for the imperial throne, bared his teeth in an animalistic snarl, his thrashing resuming as he fought to free himself from his bonds, his arachnid foe drawing ever closer, one pointed leg raising high, coming down fast as it aimed to piece the back of the teen's skull, the sound of metal clashing cutting through the air.

* * *

"Lady Nunnally?" Sayoko called out, the Lamperouge's maid, assigned to them by the Ashford family, looking up in concern from her setting of the table to find the younger Lamperouge gazing blindly down at the fallen teacup "Oh my! Are you alright?"

"Y-yes…" Nunnally assured the woman, her gentle hands pulling away as she allowed the Japanese maid to sweep up the spilt tea and china "The handle just gave way…I'm sorry."

"How very strange…" Sayoko mused, the woman's features fraught with confusion and concern as she tidied up "This was the good china too…I wonder what on earth could have happened?"

Nunnally said nothing, though internally, her heart was racing, her small hands going to her chest, as she tried to calm herself from the flash of insight that had washed over her.

'Brother…' she whispered, her gentle features lined with concern as she recalled her loving, doting elder sibling and protector, who was running later than usual 'Could it be…is Lelouch in trouble…?'

"Master Lelouch is running later than usual." Sayoko pointed out, the maids features creasing in concerned disapproval, as she didn't think too highly of the elder Lamperouge's excursions into the city. Reduced circumstances or not, it was beneath a member of the royal family to gamble. It was even more dangerous for Lelouch, as there was a high probability that he'd be recognized by a member of the nobility each time he went out.

"He'll be here." Nunnally assured the woman, smiling confidently, her fears for her sibling's safety pushed to the back of her mind "He promised after all."

Sayoko nodded but said nothing, offering the blind girl a kind smile as she set about preparing for their trip.

After all, the girl was right, Lelouch Lamperouge would NEVER, come hell or high water, break a promise with his younger sibling.

* * *

Lelouch blinked, looking up in shock at the dark figure that had imposed itself between himself and the spider creature, his eyes widening as he saw the spiked, metallic limb, which had been aimed at his head, being held off by a crimson blade.

With a grunt, the caped figure lashed out, the sword eliciting sparks as it scraped against the creature's leg, the Arachnid backing away with a high pitched shriek, the other limbs flailing wildly at the interloper, but otherwise keeping their distance.

"Can you stand?" the masked man's modulated voice demanded, Lelouch blinking as he realized the gossamer threads that been binding him had been cut away "If you can, make for the mirror, get out of here."

"Who…who are you?" Lelouch demanded, gazing up at the tall, black armored figure in awe, taking in purple lines of energy that seemed to flow over the armor like veins, and the strange, bird-like crest that rested beneath the sole lens on the helmet.

"No time for that! Move!" the masked man ordered, grabbing Lelouch by the scruff of his jacket, the elder Lamperouge choking as he was hoisted up, with surprising strength, like a kitten, his rescuer tossing him towards the store window like a rag.

The Arachnid, as if waiting for the masked man to drop his guard, lunged forwards, shrilling angrily, metallic legs lashing out like spears as it tried to skewer the duo, only for the masked man to release Lelouch, drawing a card from a buckle at his waist, and sliding it through a slot on his right arm.

**"FINAL VENT!"**

All Lelouch saw, just before he was enveloped by the liquid glass for the second time, was the masked rescuer turn to face the arachnid head on, his right foot seeming to glow with purple energy, and then he was gone, the sound of an explosion, and the arachnid's high pitched squeal, echoing after him as he was tossed unceremoniously back onto the other side of the mirror, hitting his head against the curb.

The last thing the elder Lamperouge heard was the sound of rushing footsteps, and a deep, commanding voice ordering a perimeter to be formed, before a pair of strong arms scooped him up, his mind blacking out from the pain.

* * *

On the other side of the mirror, the masker rider stood over the smoking remains of his arachnid foe, as it slowly dissolved into smoke on the wind.

"It would appear that they've been busier than I'd thought…" he muttered, his modulated voice dark as he turned to face the multitude of spider creatures that stood perched atop the walls and ruins around him, a hand going to his belt as he extracted another card from behind his buckle, upon which rested the same insignia that adorned his helmet "How long do you plan to lurk behind these pests?"

"Long enough to wear you down." A voice answered, the spider creatures stepping away to reveal a figure in light bronze, almost orange armour, his helmet reminiscent of a crab, or some other crustacean "After all, just how long can you keep this up?"

"Come and find out…" the masked rider muttered, bringing the card he'd drawn from his belt up to his arm, slashing it through, even as the spiders leapt at him en masse.

* * *

Lelouch: WHAT THE HELL?!

Kyugan: Now Lelouch...remember your blood preassure...

Lelouch: Who the hell was that?! I thought 'I' was supposed to be the main character in this!

Kyugan: You are! Youe are!...It's just you're not Zero.

Lelouch: The hell I aren't! Who's running around with my deck?!

Zero: That would be me...

Lelouch: (Turns, eyes widending as 'Zero' De-henshins) Y-You?!

Kyugan: For those who wish to see more...use your Review Vent to find out!

All 'Flame Vents' will be neutralized with 'Confine Vent', so don't bother.


	3. Chapter 3

A little update, because I'm in a festive mood.

Lelouch: (Glaring at 'Zero') You bastard...who do you think you are?!

Zero: (Arms crossed) More than you are little boy.

Lelouch: Oh it's on you-!

Kyugan: Children please! (Sighs and holds up advent deck) Let's ride.

* * *

Through the looking Glass.

Lelouch awoke with a jolt, only to flinch as he reached up to his brow, the elder Lamperouge flinching as he felt the tightly wrapped medical bandages.

"Where am I?" the dazed teen wondered, looking around in concern, noting the Shinjuku ghetto not too far away, his relief slowly giving away to anxiety as he realized there were Britannian soldiers nearby.

"Lelouch!" a cheerful voice called out, the elder Lamperouge turning just in time to see Rivalz Cardemonde running towards him, waving excitedly "Thank God! You had me worried when they carried you out of the ghetto!"

"Carried?" Lelouch repeated, the elder Lamperouge wincing slightly as his addled memory recalled a pair of arms picking him off the ground, a loud voice barking out orders, right before he blacked out "What happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know." A voice called out, Lelouch looking up, past his suddenly nervous friend, as a dark skinned woman in a VERY fitting military uniform walked in, her exotic features stern, but not unduly so "My name is Lieutenant Villetta Nu," she introduced, coming to a halt next to the teen's cot, "My team was sent in to investigate the series of sudden disturbances that has plagued the Shinjuku Ghettos."

"Disappearances?" Lelouch repeated, the purple eyed teen looking up at the woman in confusion, noting with interest that Rivalz was simultaneously trying to check her out and prevent himself from doing so.

"This isn't public knowledge, but for the past month or so, there's been a slew of unexplained disappearances within the ghettos." The Lt. admitted, her features professional as she stood before the teens "Normally we wouldn't make much of the loss of a few elevens, but several of our troops that were sent to flush out the resistance groups have disappeared as well."

'People disappearing for over a month, and nobody's noticed?' Lelouch wondered, struggling to keep his features in a mask of shock, whilst on the inside, his mind was processing everything he'd seen and heard 'Could it have something to do with that creature?'

"That is why we'd like to hear what you have to say." Villetta continued, the dusky skinned woman's voice snapping the elder Lamperouge out of his musings "From the looks of it, you were attacked by someone. If you could shed some light on the situation, it would greatly help our operations."

"I…I'm afraid I never saw the ones that jumped me." Lelouch lied, his face a mask of honest apology "They attacked me from behind," which was true enough "it all happened so fast, I barely managed to get away before I collapsed."

"I see…" the dark skinned Lieutenant muttered, her eyes narrowing slightly, as if she suspected he was hiding something, only to shrug, pulling out a slip of card with a number on it "This is my personal number, if you remember anything at all, contact me or my superior via the direct line."

"T-thank you, I will." Lelouch offered, making a big show of accepting the card from the woman, his face a mask of humble humility, even as he sneered internally at how easily he'd gotten her to release him "Um, if we're done here…Rivalz and I need to be getting back to class…"

"We're done." Villetta admitted, pulling out a file from under her arm, opening it and holding it out to the teens "However, we need you to sign these, in the matter of international security." She narrowed her eyes at Rivalz "Also, I must ask that you do not speak of the events that transpired today with ANYONE."

Lelouch noted, scribbling down one of his many aliases, as there was a chance someone might decide to investigate 'Lelouch Lamperouge', especially if these people worked for Clovis, Rivalz doing the same, though he used his real name.

"We'll be in touch." Villetta assured them, snapping the file shut, before turning on her heel and walking off, a uniformed trooper walking up to the duo to guide them to Rivalz's bike, which was fully charged once again.

* * *

_Ashford Academy, later that day..._

"Hey Lulu!" Shirley Fannett called out, the orange haired student council secretary running up to the elder Lamperouge and Rivalz, her face torn between concern and disapproval "You're finally back…" she trailed off at the sight of Lelouch's bandages "Hey what happened?"

"Huh? Oh this…" Lelouch muttered, the elder Lamperouge idly touching the bindings on his brow, cursing himself for not disposing of them earlier "We took a shortcut through the ghetto, I clipped my head on some debris."

"This is all because you two ditched class again!" Shirley insisted, though she looked more concerned than angry as she reached up to touch the bandages, though her expression changed as she turned to look at a sheepish Rivalz "I told you that you'd get hurt if you kept letting Rivalz drag you along on his gambling escapades."

"SHHH!" the blue haired secretary hissed, running up to the girl and trying to silence her before anyone, like a passing teacher, heard her, as unlike Lelouch, who it was widely known was on good terms with the dean, the young Cardemonde doubted he could sweet talk his way out of a disciplinary hearing.

"She's right you know, Rivalz." A confidant, teasing voice spoke up, the latecomers looking up to see Milly Ashford, Granddaughter and heir of the Dean, and the Student Council President, walking up to them, with a coy expression on her face "After all, you shouldn't be 'corrupting my Lulu'…isn't that how you put it, Shirley?"

"Madam President!" Shirley exclaimed, the orange haired the treasurer's face turning a bright scarlet as she rounded on the older girl, waving her arms over her head "Please stop saying those kind of things!"

Lelouch chuckled, sending a subtle signal to the Ashford heir, thanking her for taking the pressure off him, to which she responded with a subtle wink.

Milly Ashford had been Lelouch's childhood friend since before he and Nunnally had been exiled to Japan, the Ashford family having been close, personal friends with the late empress Marianne. So close in fact, that prior to the empress' assassination, there had been rumors that Marianne and Reuben Ashford were planning to see the two married off, though Lelouch knew nothing of this.

However, with the death of Lelouch's mother, the Ashfords had fallen from grace, the majority of their lands being stripped off them, all for the simple fact that they refused to let the murder of the empress go.

Reuben Ashford, disgusted with the political games of the court, had moved his entire family to Japan, weathering the war to set up the prestigious Ashford Academy, one of the few places where Britannian and Japanese students could be taught equally.

It had been he who encountered the Lamperouge siblings, bumping into them by chance when he was driving through the countryside. He'd recognized them instantly, and had actually gotten down on his knees and embraced them, despite ruining his good clothes in the muddy roadside.

Since then, the two had been under the protection of the Ashford family, as despite their reduced circumstances, they were still a noble family, and Reuben Ashford's name still held a lot of weight in important circles.

'I owe the Ashford family a tremendous dept.' the elder Lamperouge noted, watching with a small smile as Milly proceeded to shamelessly tease Shirley, the busty blonde smiling past the smaller girl's protests 'were it not for them, I doubt that Nunnally and I would have survived as long as we have…'

He trailed off with a start as someone bumped into him, half turning, as if by instinct, to catch the redhead that stumbled past him before she could fall. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking her over carefully, only for the girl to nod.

"Yes," she offered, her voice tired, as if she were about to pass out at any moment, her entire attitude one of cautious fragility as she stepped away from him, moving to catch up with her friends, who were calling from up ahead "Sorry for bumping into you…"

"Well there's a rare sight." Rivalz noted, looking after the redhead as he sidled up next to the elder Lamperouge "That's Kallen Stadtfeld, the daughter of the affluent Stadtfeld family." He nodded as he watched the girl walk away "Looks, intelligence, her only real flaw is that she's sickly, and hasn't come to class since the semester started."

"I think she's in your class Lulu…" Milly noted offhandedly, the blonde smiling coyly after the redhead "You mean you've never noticed?"

"I can hardly remember someone if I've never spoken to them." Lelouch countered, already dismissing the sickly redhead from his thoughts, as pretty or not he had more important things to deal with, only to trail off as the sound of a megaphone cut through the halls.

* * *

"THE TEXTBOOKS ARE WRONG!" a Japanese student declared, the teen standing amidst a throng of like minded followers, all of which were carrying placards that denounced the school system "THEY DO NOT ACCURATELY DEPICT JAPANS HISTORY! THEY ARE FILLED WITH BRITANNIAS LIES!"

"Oh man…are they at it again?" Rivalz muttered, shaking his head in disbelief as the protestors continued with their demonstration "What a pain, this is exactly why they should end this co-ed thing between Britannian's and Elevens-!"

"What'd you say?!" the ringleader of the protestors demanded, the bandana sporting student slapping a hand on Rivalz's shoulder, the startled secretary only now realizing the folly of his statement "This academy formerly belonged to the Japanese!" the student declared, his face a mask of fury "You Britannian's are the ones that need to clear out!"

"Hey whoa there!" Rivalz protested, holding up his hands in a desperate bid to show he hadn't meant anything by his statement "I'm against violence!" he added for emphasis.

Sadly for Rivalz, the protestor was NOT so inclined, and had already reared back his fist, intent on smashing the teen's face in, when a hand lashed out, twisting the offending arm behind its owner's back.

"Stop it." a tall, green eyed brunet commanded, his features depicting him as an Eleven, though he clearly disapproved with his fellow's actions "You shouldn't resort to violence." He turned his gaze towards the other protestors "You should stop that as well, what good will it do either way?"

"You call yourself Japanese?" two of the protestors yelled, tossing aside their placards and charging the teen "You're just another Britannian Lapdog!"

Said lapdog, with hardly any change in expression, calmly ducked under their clumsy blows, capturing their wrists as he had their leader's, and twisting them behind their backs in a perfect hold.

"Please don't resort to violence." He stated, his tone almost imploring his fellow Japanese to see reason, only for them to slink off, denouncing him as a 'traitor' and 'shame to the Japanese', to which he merely sighed, as if he'd grown used to such statements.

"Suzaku." Lelouch called out, the teen turning, as if in surprise, to face the elder Lamperouge, who was looking at him in equally surprised concern, only for the brunet to walk off without saying a word, his features grim "Suzaku!"

"I thought they were gonna kill me!" Rivalz whined, the blue haired teen trying to garner sympathy from Milly, who merely dismissed him as a coward with her usual teasing manner, the three of them looking up in surprise as Lelouch walked off, calling after the departing teen.

"Hey…" Rivalz muttered, looking after his friend and gambling buddy in confusion "I wonder how Lelouch knows that Eleven?"

* * *

_Ashford Academy roof..._

"Why are you avoiding me?" Lelouch demanded, the elder Lamperouge staring intently at the Japanese teen, having followed him onto the roof "You haven't been coming into school much either, though I'm hardly going to berate you on that."

"Lelouch…" the brunet teen muttered, sighing despondently as he leant against the marble railing of the roof, his emerald eyes peering off into the distance "I really don't think it wise that we be seen together."

"You're STILL saying that?" Lelouch demanded, the elder Lamperouge looking at the japanese teen in outright annoyance, putting a hand on his hip as he covered his face with the other, shaking his head in exasperation "Good grief Suzaku…"

"I'm serious Lelouch." The brunet insisted, looking the other teen in the eye, his features a mask of absolute seriousness "As the son of Japan's late Prime Minister, hanging around me could reveal your OWN secrets."

Lelouch grimaced, recalling how Suzaku, and his father, Kururugi Genbu, had sheltered him and Nunnally, prior to the war with the Empire. While many had demanded the two be used as a bartering chip, the Prime Minister had protected them with his name and power, a shield that was lost when he took his own life, prior to the end of the war.

"Please don't worry about me." Suzaku assured the teen, walking past the elder Lamperouge towards the stairwell, his hand briefly patting his childhood friend on the shoulder, a ghost of a smile on his face "I'll be alright."

"Suzaku!" Lelouch called out, only to frown as the other teen walked off, his purple eyes narrowing as he clenched his fist "You stubborn fool…"

He blinked, trailing off suddenly, a hand going to his ears as a strange, clamoring noise filled the air. It was almost deafening, and yet at the same time, so quiet it was almost silent, like being able to hear a whispered word over a cacophony of sound.

'What the…hell…?' the purple eyed teen muttered, wincing as he leant against the railing for support, one hand clamped over his ear as he tried to steady himself 'What…just what in the hell was that…?'

* * *

_Academy Roof Stairwell..._

"You look familiar…" a nasal voice opined, Suzaku looking up as he passed a member of the faculty, a tall, spindly looking man in white, with pale curly hair and a foppish expression on his bespectacled face "I wonder…where could I have seen you…?"

Suzaku blinked, looking at the pale faculty member in confusion, as he certainly didn't recall seeing the man around campus before, which was certainly odd. As a member of the Britannian Military, he was required to have a detailed memory of his surroundings, and as such, had already memorized the faces and mannerisms of his educators. Thus, this strange, foppish man was an unknown element, and possibly a threat.

"Excuse me, sir." The honorary Britannian muttered, turning on his heel and making his way down the corridor, leaving the man to his musings, his footsteps echoing down the deserted corridors of the hall, classes having concluded for the day.

He paused, briefly, to stare at his reflection in a nearby wall mirror, the reflective surface framed by a gaudy golden frame that bore the crest of the Ashford family. With a grimace he straightened his uniform as best he could, noting that one of the buttons on his coat sleeve had gone missing, likely from the earlier encounter with his…fellow countrymen.

'Stop it.' he muttered, his features firming as he stared into his own, emerald eyes, which stared back at him accusingly 'You've come too far to start feeling sympathetic. Get it together…'

Resolve reaffirmed, the honorary Britannian turned on his heel, determined to return to his room, as he had to report to duty later that evening, when something in his peripheral vision caught his attention, a strange, almost alien movement on the glass surface.

"SUZAKU!" a voice yelled out, the emerald eyed teen turning in surprise to see Lelouch racing towards him, the elder Lamperouge's face a mask of desperate horror "GET AWAY FROM THAT THING!"

"Lelouch?" the honorary Britannian wondered, turning to face the teen in confusion, only for a set of metallic, arachnid appendages to burst out of the mirror, pulling him through it before he knew what was happening.

* * *

"NO!" Lelouch yelled, the elder Lamperouge coming to a halt in front of the mirror, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he peered into it, seeing only his own, desperate reflection gazing back at him "Not again…not Suzaku!"

The former prince had been making his way down the hall, determined to head back to the rooms he shared with his sibling at the Council clubhouse, when that eerie sound had returned, though this time, he caught the fleeting image of the spider creature from before, reflected in the marble ceiling of the hallway, a sense of dull horror washing over him as he realized it HADN'T all been a dream.

He'd followed the beast, not entirely sure as to WHY he was doing so, other than a strange sense of premonition, that something BAD was about to happen. And sure enough, something had, as he'd come across Suzaku staring into a mirror, heedless of the creature lurking in wait.

"I can't let this happen…" the elder Lamperouge muttered, his breath easing as he stared into the mirror "Suzaku…I'd never forgive myself if I just left him here…"

Reaching out, almost tentatively, the purple-eyed teen brought the fingertips of his right hand up to the mirror's surface, his brows creasing as it rippled at his touch, as if he'd touched a pool of reflective water. Taking another, steadying breath, he reached out further, his fingers meeting resistance for the scarcest of seconds, before slipping though the ripple, the bizarre liquid feeling washing over his hand once again.

'I don't know if it's because I got pulled though once before or not…' he muttered, grimacing as he pulled his hand out of the mirror, looking down at it before clenching his fist 'but there's no time to call for help…and nobody'd believe me anyways…'

Firming his resolve, the former prince stepped forwards, holding his right hand out before him as he stepped into the mirror, the ripple closing behind him.

Unbeknownst to the teen however, his little disappearing act hadn't gone unnoticed, a certain redhead gaping after him from her spot around the corner, her eyes wide in shocked disbelief.

* * *

_Mirror World: Academy Corridor..._

Lelouch exited the other side of the mirror almost as soon as he stepped into it, the former prince blinking as he eyed his surroundings, noting with surprise that he seemed to have come back out into Ashford academy.

'No…' he noted, his eyes narrowing as he took in the surroundings, more particularly, the details on the Ashford family crest, posted above the mirror 'It's backwards…like a mirror image…'

A high pitched chattering caught his attention, the teen turning on his heel just in time to see an arachnid leg disappear around a corner, a human shaped bundler slung over the monstrosities shoulder.

"Suzaku!" the teen cried, his musings on the matter cast aside as he dashed down the hallway, grabbing a nearby vase from a pedestal and hurling it at the monster as he rounded the corner. It impacted, splendidly, against the creatures' armored head, causing it to rear up in alarm, dropping the body of Suzaku to the floor, the honorary Britannian lying still.

"Suzaku!" Lelouch urged, dashing over to his childhood friend in concern, noting with relief that the teen was simply out cold, as there was a steady pulse and breath, though from the sight of things, he'd taken a pretty nasty bow to the head "C'mon…" he muttered, slinging the teen's arm over his shoulder "I'm getting you out of here-!"

Their arachnid friend had other ideas, having finally calmed down from the sneak attack, the monster turned to face them, armored limbs tearing into the narrow hallway as it stood to it's full height, letting out a shrill hiss as it glared at the interloper.

Cursing, Lelouch pulled himself to his feet, dragging the slumbering Suzaku along after him in a vain attempt to get to the mirror. Said hope came to a sudden, and agonizing end as the monster clambered over them, using the walls and ceiling as a means to cut ahead of them, dropping down from on high to hiss at the teen that had dared interrupt it's dinner.

'Dammit!' Lelouch muttered, his eye catching sight of a fire extinguisher nearby, debating the wisdom of dropping his friend to make a dash for the container even as the monster took another, ominous step forwards.

"**SHOOT VENT!"**

Lelouch blinked, only to yelp as several purple blasts of light smashed into the creature's torso, sending it sprawling on it's back, legs kicking wildly at the air.

"Back again I see…" a familiar, modulated voice called out, Lelouch turning to gape at the tall, caped figure in black armor, who was leveling a large handgun at the downed monster, the barrel still smoking "Don't you have better things to do, boy?"

Lelouch gaped, his mind shutting down once again at the sight of the armored figure, his mouth working as he tried to voice a reply, only for no sound to come out, the armored figure pushing past him, his hidden gaze apparently locked on the creature before him.

"We'll talk later…" the gunman muttered, reaching to his belt, Lelouch looking on in awed silence as he drew a seemingly harmless card from his buckle "after I squash this bug…"

He brought the card up, Lelouch catching sight of a crimson glyph displayed on the back, identical to the symbol on the man's helmet and buckle, before slashing it through a slot which seemed to be built into the armor of his right arm.

**"FINAL VENT!"**

The masked man crouched, taking on a martial arts stance, legs spread wide, one hand extended towards the downed monster, the other held near his helmet, the fingers clenched, like claws. The purple veins that encompassed his armor lit up, energy flowing through them towards the right leg, which began to crackle with energy.

With a yell, the man leapt, his cape flowing up behind him like wings, Lelouch blinking in awe as it seemed to briefly take on the appearance of the same glyph from the card, before lashing out with his right foot, a purple light shining from it, the same winged glyph hovering just in front of the extended foot as it crashed into spider beast, Lelouch shielding his face as the explosion tore through the hallway.

* * *

Coughing, waving smoke out of his face, the Elder Lamperouge blinked, looking through the smoke to see the masked man standing over the disintegrating corpse of the spider monster, like a demon from hell, only to blink as the man stumbled, his eyes widening as he espied the growing stain on the man's unarmored flank.

"Damn…" the modulated voice muttered, the masked figure staggering against the wall of the corridor, where he managed to stand, a shaky hand going to the wound on his side "Tore my wound open…blasted spiders…"

"Are you alright?" Lelouch called out, the elder Lamperouge leaning Suzaku against the wall, before jogging over to their rescuer "Let me take a look, perhaps I can-!"

He trailed off, eyes wide as the armored figure's frame gave off a low hum, a burst of what appeared to by air rising from the cracks in the armor as a purple light split it in half, the teen looking on in shock as the armor vanished, replaced by a young woman with green, ass-length hair, dressed in what appeared to be a black dress, open at the legs to allow movement.

"What the…" he stammered, only to gasp as she collapsed, his arms coming up instinctively to catch her. She whimpered, and his eyes widened as his right hand came up, stained with blood from the wound that adorned her left flank.

* * *

Lelouch: Oh what the HELL C.C?

C.C: Hm? Is something wrong?

Lelouch: Why are YOU in the zero armor!? I'M ZERO!

C.C: Simple, I fight better than you, I'm more experienced than you (Pulls a pose) and it looks better on me anyway.

Lelouch: Witch

C.C: That's not what you said last Night.

Kyugan: Ugh, teenagers. In any case, how will this little wrinkle affect things? Just what will come of this meeting of three (four rather) people?

R.R: Send in a Review Vent to find out!

Also, since the site refuses to let me use my usual dividers, I've added scene changes! Props!


	4. Chapter 4

C.C: (Watching her Final Vent) I must admit, I'm liking the way this turns out.

Lelouch: (Grumpy) You would.

Kyugan: Now, now...

Kallen: Hey! Where's her contract beast!

Kyugan: Ah, that's a good question...which I will get back to you on later...

Kallen: Wha-HEY!

Kyugan: (Running for his life, deck held before him) Dear God Let's Ride!

* * *

3. Contract.

_Ashford Academy Corridor..._

Kallen Stadtfeld blinked, running her fingers over the cool flawless surface of the wall length mirror, as if checking for any imperfections.

'It's solid…' she whispered, before shaking her head, scoffing lightly as she dropped her hand, eyeing her own reflection with a look of disbelief 'Well of course it's solid…it must've just been a trick of the light.'

That certainly made a LOT more sense than the sight of a Britannian teen, one she dimly recalled as the one she'd bumped into in the hallway earlier that day, walking into the mirror, like something out of a fairytale.

'Why would I even think it was him?' she wondered, frowning as she recalled the teen, who'd been chatting with that insensitive guy with the blue hair 'I mean I've never seen him before today…'

Shaking herself to get rid of her doubts, the redheaded daughter of the Stadtfeld family adjusted her school blazer, before turning to walk down the hall, eager to get the hell off campus, so that she could prepare for the night's events.

A sound from behind caused her to whip round, reaching for the knife she kept stashed about her person, only to gape at the sight of a brown haired student, an eleven by his features, lying face down on the floor just in front of the mirror, looking like he'd just stumbled out of it. "Hey!" the redhead called out, rushing up to the teen in concern, sighing in relief as she felt a strong, steady pulse, though he needed to get that bump on his head looked at.

"Well now…" a nasal voice called out, the redhead looking up to find a slim, pale haired man with a foppish air standing over her, smiling at her from behind his spectacles "Looks like he had a nasty spill…let's get him to the nurses office, shall we?"

Kallen nodded, cursing the untimely delay, as every second was vital, grabbing the injured teen's left arm and slinging it over her shoulder, the fop doing the same with the right, helping to carry him down the hall.

As they left, Kallen shot one last, parting look over her shoulder at the mirror, her eyes narrowing in suspicion at the otherwise harmless mirror, before turning her back on it and marching down the hall, en route to the nurses office.

* * *

_Ashford Acdemy, Student Council Clubhouse, Dining Room..._

In the private residence of the Lamperouge siblings, there stood another, wall length mirror, adorned with the Ashford family crest. It stood behind a thick curtain, the wings pulled back to reveal the shining, reflective surface, which displayed the entire dining room.

Lelouch stumbled out of the mirror, his arms struggling to support the emerald haired woman, looking around desperately as he emerged, only to sigh in relief, as there was no sign of Sayoko or Nunnally.

'I'd hate to have to try and come up with an explanation for this…' he muttered, maneuvering awkwardly around the dining room table, making for the door that led off to his and Nunnally's bedrooms 'Let's see…there's a medical kit in the bathroom…I can use that to stop the bleeding…'

"Big Brother?" a voice called out, the Purple-Eyed teen starting, turning round in alarm to find his blind younger sister coming up behind him in her automated wheelchair, her features turned instinctively towards his own "Is that you?"

"Nunnally." The elder Lamperouge greeted, trying to keep the strain out of his voice, more from his near heart attack than the weightof his burden, as he smiled at the blind angel "Sorry about this, I just got back from the council."

"But school let out over an hour ago." Nunnally countered, the blind angel's tone soft, but filled with gentle rebuke as she looked towards him, her eyes closed as ever "Big brother, did you forget your promise?"

"What? Oh! No, I haven't." Lelouch assured her, now struggling to get his door open without dropping his burden, one hand going under the woman's ass to support her as he reached for the handle "I just needed to finish some last minute paperwork. You know how Milly likes to dump everything on me."

"Well that's true…" Nunnally agreed, the younger Lamperouge giggling softly as she beamed up at her elder brother, a small, knowing smile that was exclusive to women on her pretty little face.

"I just needed a minute freshen up." Lelouch assured the girl, finally managing to get the blasted door open, slipping inside with a smile at his younger Sibling "I'll be right back, wait for me in the dining room, alright?"

"Okay…" Nunnally offered, smiling blindly up at the teen as she turned her chair back towards the dining area, Lelouch releasing the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding as he shut the door behind him, leaning his back against it with a sigh.

"That was too close…" he muttered, thanking his lucky stars that it hadn't been Sayoko that had caught him. While he hadn't liked lying to his sister, it was nonetheless better that she hadn't seen anything, unlike Sayoko, who could see all too clearly.

"You're more trouble than I thought you'd be…" he muttered, looking down at the green haired woman with a scowl, only for his features to soften as he took in her slumbering form, releasing another sigh as he stepped away from the door, setting her down on his own bed.

'First things first…' he muttered, moving back to the door, locking it against any unwanted interruptions 'Get the med kit…clean the wound…stop the bleeding…'

His foot knocked into something as he moved, the teen pausing, looking down in confusion at the small, rectangular object that lay next to his shoe. 'Did it fall out of her pocket?' he wondered, looking over at the woman in confusion, before reaching down and picking the thing up, turning it over with an analytical stare.

"What is this?" he frowned, turning the weird case over, spotting a small opening on the right hand side, and a small chip out of the cover. "Cards?" he wondered, drawing one of them out of the case, holding it up to the light, his brows furrowing at the weird symbols on the other side, only to blink as he realized he could understand them.

'Contract card...?' he muttered, staring at the blank card face in confusion, only to shake himself with a scowl 'There'll be time to deal with this later…' he mused, returning the card to the case and tucking the thing into his pocket, as he made his way to the bathroom 'First, I have to clean her wound.'

Unbeknownst to the teen, the dark reflection of a giant bat was hovering outside his window, massive wings, larger than a condor in wingspan, flapping repeatedly as it looked into his room, crimson eyes seeing all.

* * *

_Viceroy's Palace..._

"Ah, General Bartley." Clovis la Britannia greeted, the third prince and Viceroy of Area Eleven smiling at the portly general as he reclined on his throne "Perfect timing, which of these outfits do you prefer for my next press conference?" He sighed vainly "As you can see, both are beautifully made, and so I cannot make up my mind."

"Your Highness, we have no time for that!" Bartley insisted, a little unnerved at having to actually choose between a jacket that looked like a frilly curtain and a red Chinese dress "The troops we sent into the ghetto to locate…that person…" he flinched at the sight of the viceroy's maids "still haven't returned!"

"Oh, is that all?" Clovis sighed, looking bored of all things as he dismissed his maids, sitting back on his chair with a shake of his head "You really need to calm down Bartley, I have the matter well in hand."

"But sir…" Bartley muttered, looking concerned "Lord Jeremiah, of the Purist faction, has been digging a little too deeply into the disappearances." He swallowed nervously "Also, there was a sighting of 'that person' at a parking structure a while back, and he's begun to tie the two events together."

"Has he now…?" the blonde Viceroy asked, his features slowly shifting into a grim, ominous frown, as if unnerved by this turn of events "Well…that certainly won't do…I can't have word of this reaching father's ears…" he looked down, his left hand pulling a strange case out from under his cloak "I may need to step things up a bit."

* * *

_Tokyo Settlement, Park..._

"This is nice…" Nunnally smiled, the blind angel allowing herself to be pushed along by her elder brother, despite her chair being motorized.

The Lamperouge siblings had departed roughly thirty minutes after Lelouch had gotten home, the elder sibling instructing Sayoko to screen all calls for them until he returned, as he wanted his time with Nunnally to be without interruptions.

So far, the siblings had visited several stores, including a pet store, where Nunnally had played with a litter of kittens, a music store, a bookstore, and finally, an ice cream stand, Lelouch purchasing a large cone for each of them.

"Easy there…" Lelouch chuckled, the elder Lamperouge wiping his younger sister's face with a napkin to remove the faint traces of frozen crème from her cheeks "You always make a mess when it comes to ice cream."

"Sorry…" Nunnally giggled, a little embarrassed, but glad that she could spend time with her elder sibling. The two of them saw so little of one another during the school day, what with Lelouch's duties as Vice-President and frequent excursions into the city with Rivalz, so it was nice to simply be together from time to time.

'This is how it should be…' Lelouch reasoned, watching as his sister finished her ice cream, crushing the cone and tossing the crumbs for the birds to feed on 'So long as I can make Nunnally happy like this, then I'll do whatever it takes to make her happy.'

He flinched suddenly, his eyes widening as a now familiar clamor sounded up, his hand going instinctively to cover his ear as he eyed the surroundings, looking for the slightest sign of one of those spider creatures.

"Lelouch?" Nunnally called out, the younger lamperouge looking up in concern at her elder sibling's sudden silence, her gentle features instinctively gazing up at his own "What's wrong? Did you see something?"

"No…" Lelouch muttered, trying to keep the tenseness out of his tone as he smiled reassuringly at the girl, a little more relaxed, as there were no signs of any mirrors nearby. Whatever these things were, they seemed to only be able to attack using mirrors as a medium. There were none of these where he and Nunnally were standing, as they were in a quiet, peaceful section of the park.

"Hey…is that a fountain?" Nunnally asked, the blind Lamperouge tilting her head at the sound of splashing water, an excited smile coming across her features as she tured to beam up at her doting elder brother "Oh! Can I toss a penny in, Lelouch?"

"Aren't you a little old to be believing in wishing wells, Nunnally?" Lelouch asked, though it was with a doting air as he smiled at the girl, pulling out his wallet and dropping some change into the girl's hands, watching as she maneuvered her automated chair towards the fountain, walking several steps behind.

"There!" Nunnally smiled, the younger Lamperouge kissing her coin before she dropped it into the fountain, giggling as she let her fingers trail over the cool, sparkling surface of the water, her gentle features reflected back at her "It's so cool!"

"What did you wish for?" Lelouch asked, smiling as he walked towards the fountain at a sedate pace, his eyes never leaving his sister's gentle face, which turned to smile towards him, her head tilted to the side.

"I wished that the two of could do things like this more often." Nunnally replied, her angelic features beaming at Lelouch, who returned the smile with one of his own, only to stiffen as the clamor kicked up again, louder, and closer than ever.

"Lelouch?" Nunnally asked, looking up at her sibling in concern, right up until a large, man shaped creature in what looked like a red body suit, leaped out of the shallow water of the fountain, it's arms wrapping around the girl before diving back in, taking her with it.

"NUNNALLY!" Lelouch yelled, even as screams broke out all around him, several other park visitors having seen the creature. The elder Lamperouge raced to the fountain, his eyes wide with terror as he leaned over the rim, staring into his own, watery reflection as the waters rippled before him.

'I'm so STUPID!" he berated himself, gripping the edge of the fountain as he tried to calm himself down, tried to think things through 'It's not just mirrors…the one in the ghetto attacked me using a shop window…they can travel through any reflective surface!' he grit his teeth, his anxiety and anger overriding his attempts at logical thought 'And now it's got Nunnally! I have to save her!'

He reached out, fingers dipping into the liquid surface of the fountain, only to pause as something in his back pocket stirred, the elder Lamperouge pulling out the weird deck of cards he'd picked up off the floor. It sparked, dark blue electricity washing over it briefly, the elder Lamperouge's eyes narrowing as the ripples on the water's surface centralized, like waves coming off a sonar screen. Tentatively, he reached out to touch it, the peculiar feeling of being emerged in water washing over his hand, only to draw it back to find the limb dry as could be.

'No time to think about it.' he muttered, clenching his teeth as he gripped the deck in his free hand, leaning over the rim of the fountain so that he half fell, half rolled into the portal, which closed up behind him without a trace.

* * *

_Lelouch's Room..._

Back at the Clubhouse, more accurately, within Lelouch's room, a pair of golden eyes snapped open, the bearer gazing straight up at the unfamiliar ceiling, before sitting up, the blanket Lelouch had pulled over her falling away as she seemed to stare into thin air.

"That foolish boy…" she muttered, her features set in a grim, almost detached frown as she gazed off in the general direction of the park "He has no idea what he's getting himself into…"

* * *

_Mirror World: Park..._

Lelouch cursed as he was hurled out of the portal like a shot from a cannon, the elder Lamperouge grunting as he collided against the unforgiving flagstones that made up the walkway.

'Need to work on my landings…' he muttered, pushing himself onto his knees, only to blink, looking down at his arms in confusion, gazing at the black, dull material that covered them, all the way down to the tips of his fingers.

'What on earth?' he wondered, looking himself over, patting himself down to find himself dressed not in his jacket and jeans, but in a strange bodysuit, covered sparsely with armor. There was even a sort of helmet on his head, though it was only mildly adorned, like something from a cheap movie. A weird, rapier like weapon was attached to his hip, a strange slot like device on the cross guard.

'What the hell's going on?' he wondered, pulling himself onto his feet to get a better look at himself in the fountain, only to stiffen as a familiar scream tore through the air "NUNNALLY!" he yelled, running off in the direction of the noise, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he tore through the foliage, bursting out the woodwork in time to see the weird, red clad creature blunder into view, his struggling sister slung over the beast's shoulder haphazardly "NUNNALLY!"

"Lelouch, help me!" the blind princess called out, her face lined with dirt, leaves and tears as she turned in the direction of his voice, her hands reaching out to her brother in terrified desperation "I'm scared!"

"Let her go you monster!" the armored Lamperouge roared, charging the beast with his weird rapier in hand, only for the creature to duck under his clumsy strike, swatting the teen aside, dropping Nunnally on the ground in the process.

'Guh…whatever it is…it's strong…' Lelouch muttered, pulling himself onto his knees with a grimace, glaring at his useless weapon in disgust 'I need a better weapon…a gun…a sword…hell even a pole will do-!"

He trailed off, a memory of the armored figure from earlier flashing before him, the cycloptic warrior slotting a card through a reader built into his arm.

'Could it be…?' he wondered, eyeing the weird slot on the rapier, reaching down to his own buckle, where sure enough, the weird case from before now rested, drawing out a card and staring at the plain, Japanese ninjatou which was depicted there. 'Here goes nothing…' he muttered, picking up the rapier, holding it upside down, and slotting the card into the gap in the bottom.

**"SWORD VENT!"**

Almost immediately, a blade dropped from on high, landing point first in the flagstone across from the armored teen.

'Now that's more like it!' the armored Lamperouge grit out, his teeth clenched in grim satisfaction as he raced towards the weapon, grabbing it out of the ground and charging towards the monster, which had begun shambling towards the unconscious form of Nunnally "UOOOHHHH!"

The first blow caught the creature off guard, but the effect was ruined, as the weird, X-shaped device on it's back prevented the sword from digging to deep into the monster's back. Enraged, it lashed out, Lelouch back stepping, gripping the unfamiliar weapon awkwardly. As a child, he'd trained in the use of sabers and fencing, the sport of nobles, so he was no stranger to using blades. But he'd never laid a hand on a Japanese sword, save for that one time when Todoh-sensei, the man that had tutored Suzaku in martial arts, had allowed him to hold his katana.

A sudden screech from overhead heralded the arrival of a monstrous bat, which swooped in, eyes blazing, only to grab Nunnally in its claws and fly off. "NO!" Lelouch yelled, reaching after the monster in desperation, only to curse as his opponent took advantage of the situation to deliver a savage blow with it's x-shaped weapon, sending him sprawling across the park "DAMN YOU!"

"You're not too good at this…are you?" a voice called out, Lelouch blinking, looking up to see the woman from before leaning against a nearby tree, her arms crossed beneath her breasts, a black trench coat over her dress "Even without a contract, to be having this much trouble against a simple Gelnewt?"

"Don't just stand there!" Lelouch snapped, lashing out with his sword, warding the monster, the Gelnewt as she'd called it, away, before pointing the weapon at the woman's face "That bat has my sister!"

"Then you'd better hurry up." The woman pointed out, smiling coyly at the armored teen as she continued to lean against the tree, seemingly without a care in the world "She'll wind up guano at this rate…"

"You bitch!" Lelouch snarled, only to be tackled by the Gelnewt, the armored teen rolling with his foe, loosing his grip on his sword in the scuffle, only to break away after kicking the beast squarely in the nuts…or whatever it was red-clad gimp suit monsters had for genitalia.

Rolling to his feet, he scooped up his weapon, his teeth clenched as he rushed over, putting his foot on the creatures neck, and bringing the blade down with a savage, two-handed chop that severed it's head from the body.

The Gelnewt convulsed, the body spasming wildly beneath his boot, only to dissolve into smoke, drifting off on the wind, Lelouch stumbling as he lost his footing.

* * *

"Not bad…" the woman applauded, clapping her hands almost idly, a wry smirk on her face as she watched the armored teen catch his breath "Very effective…in a mindless, savage kind of way." She stepped away from the tree, smiling wryly all the time "Still, there's definite potential in there somewhere."

"Cut the shit!" Lelouch panted, pointing the tip of his weapon at the woman with a snarl, his shoulders heaving wit the adrenaline rush the fight had induced "That bat…" he muttered, referring to the beast that was circling overhead, Nunnally held captive in it's claws "shoot it down or something?"

"Now why would I want to do that?" the woman countered, quirking an eyebrow at the teen, as if he were the insane one "It'd be a perfect waste…Darkwings are rare enough as it is without my going around killing them because some boy made the mistake of dragging his kid sister through the looking glass."

"I don't care if it's the last of its species!" Lelouch snarled, the tip of the ninjatou aimed right at the woman's eyes, his gloved hand trembling in anger as he glared at the woman "It's got Nunnally! My sister!"

"Well then," the woman noted, stepping forwards, trailing her fingers along the edge of the blade, trails of blood running down it as she drew ever closer, until she was practically nose to visor with him "Why don't you make it give her back?"

Before Lelouch could stop her, the woman's hand had lashed out, twisting his wrist until he dropped the sword, before flipping him over with the same movement, so that he crashed onto his back.

"Now then." She muttered, kicking the sword off the ground and catching it with an expert twirl, aiming it at his throat as he gaped up at her "Listen up, there should be Seal and Contract cards in you advent deck, pull them out."

"Seal? Contract?" Lelouch repeated, gazing blearily up at the woman, only to flinch as she pressed the tip of his own sword against his throat, his hand going to his buckle once more, extracting yet another card, the same one he'd examined back in his room, and another, which depicted a dark void.

"Good." The woman nodded, removing the tip of the sword from his throat and hauling the armored teen to his feet by his wrist, before shoving him towards the hovering monster "Slot the Seal card into your reader and aim it at the Darkwing."

Lelouch did so, wondering just what the hell the woman was trying to do, pulling his rapier from his hip and slotting the card in, making sure to aim the weapon at the bat.

**"SEAL VENT!"**

Almost immediately, the bat let out a loud screech, a flash of energy sending it crashing backwards into a tree, Nunnally dropping from its claws like a doll. "NUNNALLY!" Lelouch yelled, pulling off a perfect slide worthy of any homerun star, catching his unconscious sibling in his arms, sighing in relief as when he saw she'd merely passed out.

A shriek from overhead drew his attention to the bat, which looked none to pleased at being knocked out of the air, nor of being deprived of it's dinner. The winged horror let out another piercing screech, Lelouch cursing as he clapped his hands over his ears, rolling over to protect Nunnally, from the incoming assault, the creature claws causing sparks to fly as it scraped against his armor.

"Don't just sit there!" the woman called out, standing off to the side once again, her face and tone commanding as she glared at the teen "The Contract card! Hold it up!"

Battered, bruised and exhausted, Lelouch did as he was told, to tired to even question why he was listening to the woman, pulling out the last card in his deck and holding it up, a dim light emitting from it as the Bat came by for another pass, only to pull up short, the air of hostility seeming to go out of it as it looked down at the teen.

Blinking, Lelouch stood up, Nunnally held close to his chest as he gazed at the creature, a strange sense of…wonderment washing over him, as he continued to hold the card aloft.

With a screech, the bat swooped towards him, Lelouch standing firm as he waited for it to come, the creature vanishing into a burst of light, which washed over the teen like a wave.

As the light washed over him, a startling metamorphosis began to take place. The dull, iron sections of the teen's armor began to shine with a silver sheen, trimmed with dark blue. The black bodysuit also shifted, becoming the same shade of dark blue that lined his armor. His helmet, which before had resembled a cheap, third rate movie replica, became more intricate, a grill like a Knight's visor forming over his eyes, the edges pointed like a bat's wings. His mouth guard, which had been plain, now looked like it had fangs.

His rapier, which had looked blocky and simplistic before, received a new, intricate cross guard, which covered the card reader, a symbol of a bat in flight adorning it.

Lastly, his buckle, which prior to now had been a plain, unassuming black, received a golden crest on the front, like a golden bat, the wings partially opened, as if it were preparing to open them fully.

"The contract has been completed…" the woman called out, smiling at the teen as the lights surrounding the transformed figure died away "Congratulations…my Knight."

* * *

_Kyugan's Realm..._

Lelouch: *Quirked eybrow* Okay...this is new...

C.C: *Smirking coyly* Oh I like where this is going...

Lelouch: Why?

C.C: Well I'm Zero, right?

Lelouch: *growls* Don't remind me...

C.C: And you're a Knight...

Lelouch: Your point?

C.C: Well then, if you're M knight, that makes you the Knight of Zero, doesn't it?

Suzaku: *off camera* HEY WAIT A MINUTE-!

**SHOOT VENT!**

Suzaku: *Explosion* GWAAARGH!

Kamen Rider Belze Walks in, a smoking Plasma Cannon on his arm, which shatters to glass as he De-henshins.

Kyugan: Always wanted to do that...

R.R: You and everyone else that saw R2...

Kallen: *Comes flying out of a mirror to Rider Kick Kyugan in the head* Got Ya! Now you're gonna-!

R.R: Be laid up for another while... *Points to Kyugan, whose head has been kicked through computer screen*

Kallen: 0_0...whoops...

R.R: *Sighs* Help the idiot recover by using Review Vents, Flame Vents will be negated with Confine Vent.


	5. Chapter 5

Kyugan: *Sitting up and holding aching head* Kallen, anyone ever tell you you have anger management issues?

Kallen: Anyone ever tell you to F!ck off?

Kyugan: More than I can count.

Lelouch: Enough of this! Can we please get back to the plot?

C.C: (draping herselfover him) Yes, I want to see my Knight in Action...

Kyugan: *inside head* slave drivers... *sighs and turns to camera, holding up Advent Deck* Let's Ride.

* * *

Great Expectations.

"Hey! Lelouch!" Milly Ashford yelled, the busty Ashford heir bringing the rolled-up sheet of papers she held down on the Elder Lamperouge's head, snapping him out of his daze "You were sleeping, weren't you?" she demanded, more teasing than upset as she brought her impromptu harisen down on the teen's head repeatedly "Don't try to lie, your hands weren't moving! Such laziness is unbecoming of a Student Council Vice-President!"

"Sorry…" Lelouch muttered, the elder Lamperouge flinching under the continued assault, looking up in long suffering exasperation as the elder teen's antics "But did you really have to hit me that much?"

"That's your punishment for leaving me to fill out the paperwork yesterday." Rivalz teased, though in truth the blue haired Cardemonde didn't hold it against the teen, since he knew Lelouch valued his time with Nunnally.

"By the way," Shirley asked, the orange haired fenette and member of the swim club turning to look at the elder Lamperouge in concern "What were you doing yesterday? You looked dead on your feet in class today."

'You try fighting off a monster gimp and a giant flying rat hell bent on having your sister for lunch.' The elder Lamperouge wanted to snap back, but reigned himself in, not wanting to come off as crazy, his brow furrowing as he recalled the previous evening's events, all too clearly.

*******

_Flashback: Mirror World Park._

"What…just happened…" Lelouch wondered, a slumbering Nunnally held close to his chest, as the newly armored Lamperouge gazed at his free hand in stunned wonderment "I…changed again?"

"The form you were in before was a 'blank'." The green haired woman pointed out, walking towards him at a sedate pace, her features calm "It's the form a rider first assumes, prior to their gaining a contract beast." She shrugged "It's not all that much different from regular armour though, and offers virtually no additional protection outside of shielding you from the corrosive atmosphere.

"Corrosive?" Lelouch repeated, the elder Lamperouge standing up straighter at the woman's words, turning to face her in alarm "Wait, what're you talking about? Where are we? And for that matter, who are you?!"

"You wouldn't be able to pronounce my full name in your language." The woman countered, pulling up short, just three feet away from the armored Lamperouge "You may call me C.C, and as for where we are…this is my world."

"World?" Lelouch repeated, the teen blinking inside his re-designed helmet as he looked around the park, which was indistinguishable from the one he and Nunnally had visited "You mean we're not on earth?"

"No…not in a sense." The woman admitted, looking around at their surroundings with a detached, almost bored expression on her face "This is Termina, the world that exists on the other side of the mirrors."

"A mirror world?" Lelouch wondered, his tone growing grim as his eyes narrowed in sudden understanding inside his helmet "I see…" he mused "well that explains why everything seems to be reversed."

"To me, YOUR world is the one that's reversed." C.C countered, the green haired woman's lips quirking wryly as she smiled at the armored Lamperouge "Though I suppose it's a moot point, since I'm the only one left."

"What happened?" Lelouch asked, the teen eyeing their surroundings in concern, as he'd begun to notice that, even for a park, it was far too quiet. Even the rustling leaves seemed oddly muted, almost unnaturally so "Where is everybody?"

"They're dead." C.C replied flatly, her tone distant as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts, as if she really didn't care about the lives of over a billion different people "Or as good as anyways."

"Does it have something to do with those monsters from earlier?" Lelouch asked, the armored Lamperouge recalling the spider creatures, the giant bat, or 'Darkwing' as she'd refferred to it, and the weird gimp-thing he'd decapitated not minutes before.

"In a manner of speaking." The woman admitted, turning round to level a stare at the duo, her golden eyes serious "But enough for now…we need to get her out of here before the atmosphere starts affecting her.

"What're you talking about?" Lelouch demanded, the armored teen looking down in concern at the slumbering form of Nunnally, his fears rising rapidly to the fore as he tightened his grip around his sister's slight frame "Don't tell me…poison gas?!"

"Not exactly…" C.C countered, the green haired woman turning decisively on her heel, looking over her shoulder, as if inviting him to follow her "But it'd still be best if you left NOW."

_Flashback Ends._

*******

_Ashford Academy, Student Council Room._

Needless to say, she'd led the siblings back to the fountain, before promptly kicking the elder Lamperouge in the small of his back, sending him sprawling into the portal, emerging with a gasp on the other side, soaking wet, but unharmed, surrounded on all sides by concerned park patrons.

Fortunately, the strange suit of armor had mysteriously vanished during transition, so the Elder Lamperouge hadn't had to explain that. In the end, he'd whipped up a story about leaping into the fountain to pull his sister out, which wasn't entirely false, and they'd been given a lift back to the academy in a squad car.

'Were it not for my bruises, I'd think it was all a dream.' The teen muttered, wincing as his back twinged, his whole body stiff from the fight with the Gelnewt, as the woman called it, 'That…' he mused, his thoughts turning to the weird deck of cards, which had served as his buckle in armor form 'and that clearly wasn't a hallucination...'

"GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTS-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Milly yelled, the force of the Ashford heir's cry causing Lelouch to snap out of his thoughts, Shirley's hair flying back from the force of the yell even as Rivalz, who'd had his feet up on the table, fell out of his chair, landing ass first on the floor.

"Trying the old 'Guts' spell again Prez?" the blue haired secretary asked weakly, wincing as he pulled himself off the floor, rubbing his bruised backside with an almost pitiable expression on his face, even as he grinned at the object of his affections.

"Okay!" the blonde senior nodded, smiling coyly at her subordinates as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts, even as Nina pulled her earplugs out off to the side "Now you guys should be ready to work!"

"Heh, a spell like that has no effect on me." Lelouch chortled, smirking wryly up at his childhood friend, once again marveling at how unpredictable she was, before getting to his feet with a sigh "Please excuse me for a bit…I think I'll go lie down in my room for a bit…"

*******

_Student Council Clubroom, Lelouch's Room._

"Welcome back." C.C greeted, the enigmatic, green-haired woman lounging idly on his bed, dressed in her black dress from before, sans the trench coat, a slice of pizza raised almost invitingly to her lips "Classes end early for the day?"

"One of the benefits of being the Vice-President of the Student Council is that nobody asks questions if you decide to skip out on gym." Lelouch quipped, frowning slightly at the liberties the woman was taking in his residence "And speaking of benefits, please don't go charging pizza to my personal account, that money is for emergencies only."

"Stingy." The woman muttered, frowning in mild displeasure as she watched the lanky teen walk in, setting his things on his desk, before quirking an eyebrow as he turned to face her, questions in his eyes "So, what now?"

"Now I think it's time you tell me what's going on." Lelouch muttered, his features calm as he pulled up a chair and sat down before her "What was with those monsters, why did they attack us, what is this 'Termina' you speak of, and what's the deal with that deck?"

"Pretty detailed…" the woman noted, swallowing a slice of pizza as she spoke, "You must be type A." she sighed at the teen's scowl "The Mirror monsters are native to Termina, they thrive on what, in your language, many call life-energy, draining it from their victims, using it to increase their numbers." She took another bite "As for Termina, well, I suppose the best way to put it is that your world and mine are mirror opposites."

"I gathered as much from the reversed writing." Lelouch muttered, his tone stern as he grabbed the pizza box out of her hands, leaving her with the slice she had "But if those things are indigenous to your world…why are they coming here?"

"When the source of food runs out, it's natural instinct to move to a new feeding ground." C.C replied, shooting the teen a reproving look as she finished her slice "That's true for both humans, and animals."

"Right…" Lelouch muttered, the elder Lamperouge helping himself to a slice, not feeling guilty in the slightest, as she'd used his card to pay after all, the teen chewing slowly as he processed her words "What about the deck?"

"The Advent Deck is a tool used to access the Rider System." C.C replied, accepting another slice from the offered box "It was designed to allow people to combat the monsters, and in some cases, tame them, as you did the Darkwing."

"The 'contract' you spoke of." Lelouch deduced, pulling out the deck he'd stashed about his person, eyeing the golden bat motif with an analytic frown "I should assume this is more effective than a normal deck?"

"Quite so." C.C agreed, nodding her head "Normally, the Advent Deck simply gives the Rider a better chance of surviving a fight, but amounts to little more than body armor against more powerful monsters." She smiled at him "The Gelnewt you had a hard time dealing with is considered the lowest of the low, if you hadn't beaten it, I'd have left you to be eaten."

"How very kind of you…" Lelouch snorted, smirking coldly at the woman as he finished off his slice in several delicate bites "So should I assume that the alternative purpose of these decks is to tame the creatures?"

"In a sense." C.C admitted offhandedly "The Rider contracts with the monster, and that monster lends you it's strength in battle." She nodded at the teen "You saw the effect it had on your armor alone, didn't you?"

"I did." Lelouch admitted, the elder Lamperouge looking down at the deck in his hand, watching idly as a small trail of dark-blue sparks washed over it's casing briefly "I felt stronger…faster…like I could do anything."

"It will pass." C.C assured him, pushing off the bed and grabbing the pizza box from him, walking off with it to look out the window "The deck should also have a few new additions, unique to the creature to contracted with."

"You still haven't answered my earlier question." Lelouch pointed out, looking at the back of the woman's head in annoyance "Why are those monsters coming here? If your people have such a means to stop them, why aren't they doing anything?"

"Because they can't." C.C countered, the woman's back to the elder Lamperouge as she continued to gaze out the window "There's no-one left in Termina but the monsters…and myself."

Lelouch frowned, looking at the woman's back, trying to determine if she was playing him for a fool. For someone who just admitted to being the sole survivor of her race, she didn't seem to aversely shook up on the matter.

But then again, who was he to judge on how another dealt with grief? Prior to his mother's death, he'd been as cheerful and naïve as could be, if a prodigy in terms of chess. When she'd been killed, he'd become suspicious of everyone around him, and his being exiled with Nunnally to Japan as 'bargaining tools' hadn't improved his faith in humanity any.

Deciding to give the woman the benefit of the doubt, for the moment, he walked up to her, gazing out alongside her at the campus grounds below.

"I never did thank you for coming to my rescue before…did I?" he asked, not looking at the green haired woman as he spoke "Not only that, but if you hadn't come when you had, who knows what might have happened to Nunnally."

"She'd have been eaten." C.C replied flatly, as if commenting on the weather, ignoring the elder Lamperouge's glare as she licked her fingers of the last traces of cheese and paste "Don't you think you should be running along?"

"Witch." Lelouch muttered, the elder Lamperouge turning on his heel with a scowl and marching towards the door, wondering why on earth he bothered to try and connect or sympathise with this strange, alien woman.

"Your welcome, by the way." C.C called out, the elder Lamperouge pausing slightly, looking over his shoulder to see the woman looking at him, a small smile on her lips, his own features softening slightly as he walked out of his room, shutting the door behind him.

*****

_Ashford Academy Courtyard._

"Finally finished!" Rivalz cheered, the blue haired Student Council Secretary's arms stretched high over his head as he worked the stiffness out of his shoulders "Man…who knew the Prez was such a slave driver?"

"Milly's always been like that…" Nina pointed out, the shy, bespectacled bookworm following shortly behind the other two members of the council, smiling nervously at the mention of the charismatic Ashford Heir, whom she admired for her boldness.

"Oh well, at least we finished the budget plan on time." Shirley reasoned, the orange haired girl sighing in relief, despite the fact the plan had been due almost a week prior, and that it had been HER responsibility to draft it.

"Of course Lelouch managed to ditch us again…" Rivalz muttered, his tone laced with mock-bitterness, actually jealous of the Vice-President's ability to get away with skipping out. It was almost as if he and Milly had a system, one would vanish for hours on end, and the other would run-ship in their absence.

The group pulled up short as a student, one of the Elevens by his features, was shoved forcibly to the ground, a group of Britannian students with bands on their sleeves standing over him disdainfully. "Elevens should stay out of sight!" the apparent ringleader muttered "Remember your place and make way for Britannian students!"

"We're not Elevens!" the Eleven teen snapped, glaring defiantly up at his tormentors as he wiped his bleeding lip on his blazer sleeve, heedless of the looks he was drawing from the surrounding campus "We're Japanese!"

"You dare talk back to us?" the ringleader demanded, glaring down at the student like some ancient dictator as he placed a hand on his chest "The Student Self-Governing Troupe? You're just an Eleven!"

The student winced, looking around for help, only for the onlookers to avert their eyes and hurry of about their business. The School Self-Governing Troupe was an unofficial body set up by senior students with familiar ties to the military. They basically patrolled the school enforcing their personal brand of justice, which amounted to little more than 'arresting' anyone that disagreed with them, or had the misfortune of being Japanese.

There was little the staff could do on the matter however, as despite their methods, the Troupe were contributing to the safety of the academy. This only served to encourage their actions, and by now, they were more like a student militia, or a lynch mob.

"Oh man…" Rivalz flinched, sympathy for the poor eleven lining his features as he shook her head in disbelief, eying the ringleader nervously "Bad luck for him…that guy's Richie Preston, his father's supposed to be a Higher-up in the military, if that eleven's not careful he could get hauled up on false charges."

"It's not fair…" Shirley muttered, looking on in concern, Nina huddling behind the taller girl, looking on as the troupe continued to harass the poor Eleven "They preach about protecting the academy, but they're the reason things are so tense around here to begin with."

Shirley wasn't the only one to share this opinion, for off to the side Kallen Stadtfeld, who was being guided along by her classmates, had to resist her urge to drop her sickly disguise and dig into the stuck up Britannian brats. She was actually two seconds away from doing so, when a tall teen walked past her, her eyes widening as she recognized the boy from the other day.

*******

"Are you alright?" Lelouch asked, the elder Lamperouge kneeling down to help the confused, and rightfully so, Japanese teen stand up, his hands on the guys shoulders "C'mon get up, I'll help you to the nurse's office."

"Just WHAT do you think you're doing?" Preston demanded, glaring down at the Elder Lamperouge in disdain, his cronies lining up behind him, scowls on their faces "A Britannian standing up for an Eleven? Who are you?"

"My name is Lelouch Lamperouge." The teen replied, not bothering to look at the teen as he helped the battered teen to his feet "I'm the Vice-President of the Student Council, and as such, I'm ORDERING you to back off and return to class."

"Order?" Preston repeated dangerously, his features darkening as he glared at the elder Lamperouge, his cronies stepping forwards threateningly as he snapped his fingers "You think you can just waltz in here and order us around?"

"If you don't like it, then you can take it up with the Dean." Lelouch countered, turning to look the teen in the eyes, even as his followers flinched nervously "I'm sure you have a good explanation for disobeying his edict regarding discrimination."

"Tch…" Preston muttered, his eyes narrowing as he turned on his heel, gesturing for his men to follow after him, shoving unfortunate students out of their path as they marched off, Lelouch watching them go with a scowl.

"You should avoid those idiots as much as possible." He cautioned the teen he'd helped, even as several of his friends jogged over "Better yet, try to stay in groups at all times, they like to single out vulnerable targets."

"R-right…" the Japanese teen muttered, offering a grateful confused nod to the Britannian teen, before allowing himself to be led away by his friends, who kept shooting the elder Lamperouge looks of stunned amazement over their shoulders.

"Lelouch!" a voice called out, the elder Lamperouge turning to fond the members of the Student Council, sans Milly, racing towards him, looking concerned "Jeez, don't scare us like that!" Shirley insisted, even as Rivalz patted him down for injuries.

"Man I really don't get you sometimes." Rivalz muttered, the blue haired teen sighing in relief as Lelouch batted his concerned checks aside "but at least you're alright. What possessed you to stand up to those guys?"

"If nobody stands up to them they'll just continue to make trouble." Lelouch pointed out, his features grim as her scowled at the memory "C'mon, let's get out of here."

*******

_Student Council Clubhouse, Dining Room._

"Welcome back big brother!" Nunnally greeted, the blind Lamperouge smiling up at her elder sibling, having recognized the sound of her brother's telltale tread as he entered the room. She beamed up at him, apparently none the worse from her encounter with the mirror monsters the other day. In fact, she seemed to have no memory of the event, a fact Lelouch intended to keep that way if he could.

"Look," the younger Lamperouge insisted, her tone excited as she held out her hands to an intrigued Lelouch, the elder teen blinking in surprise at the sight of the folded paper crane resting in her palms "Sayoko taught me Origami."

"Well isn't that nice." Lelouch noted, smiling gratefully up at the Japanese maid that had been assigned to the Lamperouge siblings by Reuben Ashford, who bobbed her head in acceptance before walking off to prepare dinner.

Lelouch had to admit, despite his general mistrust of anyone interfering in his and Nunnally's private lives, he'd come to rely on the Japanese woman, as she not only skilled in areas of housekeeping that Lelouch was sorely lacking, which were surprisingly few for a boy his age, but could entertain his precious sibling whenever he was unable to do so himself.

Not only that, but the maid was also well versed in several fields outside of general care taking, not the least of which was bodyguard detail. Lelouch had once scoffed at this when Reuben Ashford had brought it up, but his skepticism had quickly evaporated after an incident when a burglar had broken into the clubhouse while the siblings were asleep.

Lelouch had been roused by Nunnally's scream, as apparently the man had stumbled into her room, the elder Lamperouge rushing to her aid, only to gape at the sight of a scowling Sayoko, dressed in an untied traditional Japanese sleeping kimono, and not much else, pinning the six foot man to the floor, his arm twisted painfully behind his back, and a VERY sharp blade held dangerously close to a vital artery.

Needless to say, Lelouch felt more secure leaving Nunnally on her own in the clubhouse, as only a man with a death wish would try anything with Sayoko there.

"The Japanese people are so talented…" Nunnally noted, the blind girl smiling down at the crane resting in her hands "Did you know? They say that if you make a thousand cranes, your wish will come true." She beamed up at her elder brother "Do you have a wish, big brother?"

"No, I don't." Lelouch admitted apologetically, his tone gentle as he reached out to pat his sister, whose well-being and happiness was all he could ask for in the world, on the head, earning a giggle from the girl "Don't you have one?"

"Mmmm…" Nunnally hummed, the blind angel leaning into her brother's palm with a gentle smile on her face, feeling safe and secure at his touch "I wish for the world to become a gentler, kinder place."

"Is that so?" Lelouch asked, smiling down at the girl as he ruffled her hair "Well then, if that's the case, then I'm certain by the time your sight returns, your wish will come true…"

However, as he leant against the veranda after dinner, Nunnally long having retired to her rooms for the night, the elder Lamperouge's thoughts were decidedly grim, as he processed the likelihood of his sister's dream ever coming true.

He knew just how cruel the world could be, how could he not after all? Before the death of their mother, Empress Marianne, Lelouch had been as trusting an naïve as any eleven year old, though admittedly gifted with a sharp mind for strategy, as evidenced by his early mastery of chess.

After his mother's death, followed by the ruining of the Ashfords, who refused to cease their investigations, and his Father's betrayal, Lelouch had come to realize that the world they lived in was a cruel one, fraught with paranoia, subterfuge, and betrayal.

The fact that the emperor had invaded Japan despite knowing the siblings were there proved how little he cared for them, though Lelouch suspected he'd used their supposed 'deaths', merely a means by which to go into hiding, as a means of excusing his actions, once the invasion was complete.

'As it is, Nunnally and I only have a few options for the future.' He muttered, features grim at the prospect of someone from the Japanese rebel factions, or worse, someone from the homeland, learning of their survival 'If we're discovered, we'll be used as political tools…perhaps even fodder for a conspiracy.' His eyes narrowed as he recalled holding his trembling sister that first night in Japan 'I don't want Nunnally to experience that…I want to create a world where she can live happily.' His features hardened 'and to do that, I must crush Britannia!'

"And therein lies the problem…" he sighed, leaning back on the veranda in exasperation, looking heavenward, taking in the glittering celestial bodies "No matter how you look at it, it's impossible for me to do anything on my own…"

He trailed off, his eyes narrowing as he pulled out the Deck he'd stashed inside his school blazer, purple eyes running over the golden bat crest as his mind began to slowly think things over. 'She didn't seem in a hurry to take this back from me.' He noted, recalling how C.C had never brought the matter up 'If anything, she seemed pleased that I'd contracted with that bat…'

Before he could think any further on the matter, the elder Lamperouge was snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of activity in the courtyard below.

'More monsters?' he wondered, gripping the deck tightly between his fingers as he glared into the darkness, only to relax, as the shapes flitting from shadow to shadow were too small and organized to be anything but human 'Still? What could they be doing here at this hour?'

His answer soon came clear, as a small explosion tore through the night, his eyes widening as the statue of Clovis, annoying eyesore that it was, exploded.

* * *

Kallen: BOOYAH! Now that's what I'm talking about!

Lelouch: You only showed up once in this entire episode.

Kallen: well I'll be making up for that come next chapter!

C.C: Really? You think so?

Kallen: Hello? Who do you think bombedClovis statue?

Lelouch: Big whoop, I was planning to do that for years.

Kallen: One thing bugs me though...'Student Self Governing Troupe'?

Kyugan: I shit you not, that's what they called them.

Kallen: Seriously, I know the manga's completely off kilter and all but c'mon! A student millitia?

C.C: I suppose they needed a means for you to be rescued.

Kallen: Hey! I NEVER need rescuing!

Lelouch: Of course you do -*pretends to cough* Saitima *coughs again* Chinese Federation *Cough*

Kallen: *Flushes but glares at lelouch* Why you...

Kyugan: When you lovebirds are done singing lemme know.

Kallen: *sighs* whatever, not like those losers will be much of a problem *eyes a sweating Kyugan*...Riiiight?

R.R: *sighs as Kyugan races off like roadrunner, followed by a raging Kallen* Send reviews by Review Vents, Flame Vents will be neutralized by Confine Vent.


	6. Chapter 6

C.C: Normally Kyugan does the credits, but he's still being chased by Kallen right now.

Kallen: *Races past, chainsaw in hand* Stand still!

Kyugan: NO!

Lelouch: In any case, please, enjoy the show.

R.R: Once again, this is based on the MANGA. So do NOT expect Knightmares.

* * *

The Dark Knight

"This is Japan!" a young man declared, stamping his foot on the severed head of the statue of Clovis which had once posed grandly in the courtyard of Ashford Academy, even as one of his comrades spray painted the kanji for 'Destroy the Empire' on the ruined remains "We don't need a Britannian Viceroy!" he nodded towards their apparent leader, who was looking on with her hands on her hips "Right, Kallen?"

"Right!" Kallen agreed, the redhead's sickly expression replaced by a fierceness that was actually more becoming, her fiery locks spiked out at the sides as she glared at the mutilated statue "We don't need silly decorations like this tainting the academy!"

Her comrades cheered their approval, though they were careful not to make TOO big of a ruckus, as deserted or not, there was still the campus security to worry about. Fortunately, things had gone off without a hitch so far, as Kallen had already worked out the patrol routes and shifts for the campus guards beforehand.

No one would ever suspect the sickly daughter of the Stadtfeld family of spying on the campus security, her 'condition', and the prestige of being associated with such a noble family, making for very effective shields.

'About the only good thing that comes from being associated with them' the redhead muttered, scowling as she recalled her step-mother, a sour, bitter woman with no children of her own, and her father, the current head of the family, who had sired her off of her Japanese mother, who he'd had an affair with shortly after setting up shop in Area Eleven.

Her elder brother, Naoto, had been killed fighting in a resistance cell the previous year, though fortunately for Kallen and her mother, the Britannian forces never discovered this. When an autopsy had been carried out to identify him, Baron Stadtfeld, who had ties to the military police, learned of Kallen's existence, and since his own wife had been discovered to be barren, and he had no legitimate heirs, he'd invited Kallen and her mother to stay at the estate, officially registering Kallen as his heir, while her mother was employed as a maid.

Kallen had never forgiven her mother for submitting so easily to her lover's demands. What good had she gotten out of it? Did she LIKE bowing her head in submission to the man's harpy of a wife? Did it make her feel special to be 'on call' to serve the man's 'urges' the scarce few times he was home, simply because his legal wife refused to bed him?

Admittedly, the Baron had been nothing but kind to Kallen, showering her with gifts and presents whenever he returned from his trips to the homeland, taking her side more often than not over his wife's whenever the two got into an argument. Even so, Kallen couldn't bring herself to see the man as her father, and as such, kept up her disguise of frailty even at home, which came in handy when she didn't wish to put up with her step-mother's nagging, or her attempts to set her up with some Britannian nobleman's son.

'No time to dwell on that now.' She muttered, shaking her head to rid herself of such thoughts as she ran alongside her comrades. She'd fallen in with the resistance cell that Naoto had formed with his friend Ohgi, and they were all the family the redhead needed, or wanted. "Sorry for making you guys take a detour!" she called out, as there originally hadn't been a plan to attack the school, but the incident with the Self-Governing Troupe earlier that day had pissed her off "Our next targets are the Britannian settlements!"

"You there!" a voice called out, the rebels looking over their shoulders in alarm as several members of the Student Self-Governing Troupe emerged from their hiding places "What do you think you're doing to the statue of Prince Clovis, Viceroy of Area Eleven?!"

'Dammit!' Kallen cursed, the redheaded rebel having not expected the so called 'protectors of the academy' to have their own night patrol, something that seemed so obvious now 'Don't these retards have homes to go back to?!'

"You Filthy Terrorists!" Preston called out, the leader of the Self-Governing Troupe's features a mask or outrage as he gave chase "Did you really think you could get away with this on my watch?! The Self-Governing Troupe will catch you, expose you, and hand you over to the Britannian forces!"

"Who the hell are these retards?" Ichirou, one of her comrades, who was TECHNICALLY the leader of their little group, though he deferred to Kallen in a crisis out of respect for her abilities "Some sort of Student Militia?"

"Something like that," Kallen muttered, pulling her goggles down over her eyes to shield her features, as it wouldn't do for her to be exposed, reaching into her pouch as she ran "They're a bunch of self-righteous idiots that believe they represent Britannia!"

She spun round, hurling a smoke bomb at their pursuers, the Self-Governing Troupe pulling back in alarm, shielding their eyes from the smoke, giving the rebels time to race ahead.

"Damn Eleven monkeys!" Preston snarled, his eyes narrowing in outrage as he shielded his face with his arm, his other hand reaching into his pocket, pulling out an orange, rectangular object with a snarl "I'll make you pay for that!"

******_*_

_Ashford Academy, Nurses office.._.

"Well good morning sleepy head…" a cheerfully nasal voice greeted, Suzaku blinking dazedly up at the unfamiliar ceiling overhead "or perhaps I should say good evening, the sun went down several hours ago."

The Japanese teen blinked, sitting up with a flinch to find himself resting in a bed, his hand going instinctively to his brow, where a roll of bandages hand been tightly wrapped.

"Just in case you're wondering, this ISN'T heaven," the nasal voice pointed out, Suzaku turning to find the foppish faculty member from the stairwell sitting before a computer terminal "It's the night duty room." He explained wryly, a lazy smirk forming on his features as he nodded at the teen "Welcome back to the land of the living, Suzaku Kururugi."

"What…happened?" Suzaku asked, the emerald eyed teen's fingers tracing the bandage tightly wrapped across his brow, flinching as he felt several stitches under the fabric, expertly applied by the feel of them.

"A female student found you passed out in a deserted hallway." The lanky faculty member recounted, smiling all the while "Nice looking girl, a little on the frail side, but then you know what they say about the quiet ones."

"A girl?" Suzaku repeated, emerald eyes blinking in confusion as the man's words washed over him, flushing slightly as he realized what the man meant, "Uhm…that is…there wasn't anyone else there, was there?"

"The only other person I saw in the hallway was that girl." The man replied with a dismissive shrug, as if he could care less either way "She didn't stick around long either, disappeared the minute I turned my back on her."

"I see…" Suzaku muttered, letting out a sigh of relief as he slumped forward 'It was all a dream…' he sighed, only to snort in disbelief 'Well of course it was…I mean monsters coming out of mirrors…Lelouch coming to MY rescue?'

He blinked, his eyes widening suddenly as he recalled something the man had said earlier "Sir!" he called out, turning to gape at the man, who quirked an eyebrow over the rim of his coffee cup "Did you say I've been asleep the entire day?!" he yelped as the man offered a curt nod "Oh no! I was supposed to patrol the ghettos today! My superiors-!"

"Have already been briefed on the situation." The lanky man assured him, pushing the distraught teen back into bed with a shove "I might not look it, but I'm actually part of the Military myself." He admitted, smiling wryly as Suzaku spotted the military insignia on his armband "I've already contacted your superiors and let them know I was giving you a check up," he smiled over the rim of his coffee cup "I'm Lloyd Asplund, but please, call me Lloyd."

"I see…" Suzaku muttered, the teen a little confused at this latest turn of events, wondering what on earth a military official was doing at his school, only to blink, looking towards the darkened windows at the sounds of pursuit outside "Excuse me sir, but what's going on?"

"Hm? Are they still at it?" Lloyd wondered, snorting at being referred to as 'sir' as he looked out the window, taking a sip from his cup "It's been going on for a while now, those boys on the Self-Governing Troupe found some Terrorists on the grounds…" he quirked an eyebrow at the clock on the wall "My word their tenacious, they've been chasing them for almost an hour now…"

"You know that and you're not doing a thing to stop it?!" Suzaku demanded, the teen scowling as Lloyd professed to being a 'thinker, not a fighter', clambering out of the bed and marching out the door "Then I'll do it!"

"Take care!" Lloyd called out, leaning against the doorframe as he watched the teen stumble off, his eyes laced with intrigue behind his spectacles 'Such an interesting specimen he is…'

*******

_Ashford Academy Roof..._

"Dammit…" Kallen muttered, the redheaded half-Britannian backing away from the door to the roof as she leant against the railing, even as Ichirou used several belts and ropes to bind the door shut "They've cornered us."

At first it had seemed as if the rebels were ahead of the game, Kallen's knowledge of the campus allowing them to split into teams of two to cover more ground, leading the Troupe on a not-so merry little jaunt across the campus. But it soon became apparent that she and Ichirou were being isolated, as the troupe began to appear ahead of them, forcing them away from their planned escape routes, culminating to the duo being shepherded onto the roof, where the only exit was blocked by the full force of the Self Governing Troupe, a seven story drop trapping them where they stood.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me…" Ichirou muttered, the rebel looking exhausted as he hobbled over to Kallen, staring incredulously at the arm of a troupe member that had slipped through the gap, waving a military issue firearm "What kind of school outfits retards like THAT with guns?!"

"One that's under the leadership of a Britannian." Kallen muttered, her eyes hard as she cursed herself for getting caught in a situation like this, the redhead honestly considering taking her chances climbing down the side of the building to escape, were it not for the fact there could be troupe members waiting below, ready to snipe her.

"This is bad…" Ichirou muttered, going through their admittedly limited inventory with an air of grim reluctance "We used all the plastique we brought with us on the statue, and all our petrol bombs are used up, we cant fight a horde like that with just two knives and smoke bombs." He grimaced, looking up at Kallen in concern "Kallen, you're not like the rest of us…if you're seen aiding us…"

"Dammit!" Kallen growled, the redhead trembling in anger as she reached for her Knife, ready to fight her way through, guns or no guns "There's no way in hell I'm going to let an bunch of retards like them catch me!"

"You say that like you have a choice." A mocking voice called out, the two rebels snapping to attention "How pitiful, to think that you let yourselves be cornered like this." The speaker scoffed "I guess Elevens truly are an apelike lot."

"Who the hell's there?!" Kallen demanded, the redhead glaring into the darkness, knife at the ready as she stood back to back with Ichirou, grimacing as water lapped beneath her feet from a puddle "Quit skulking around in the shadows and show yourself you cowardly fucker!"

"You've got quite the mouth on you…" the speaker noted darkly, his voice echoing from all sides, evidently angered by Kallen's words "However, as you insist…"

Kallen blinked, only to gasp as something grabbed her and Ichirou by the legs, dragging them INTO the puddle they were standing in, just as the door to the rooftop burst open.

*******

_Lelouch's bedroom, Student Council Clubhouse..._

C.C's eyes snapped open, the naked, green haired woman sitting up in Lelouch's bed, having climbed into it after her meal to get some rest, her golden eyes turning towards the roof of the academy, visible through the teen's window.

'It can't be…' she muttered, her eyes narrowing as she felt the tail end of a familiar presence on the air 'Here? Of all places?'

*******

_Ashford Acadey...?_

Kallen groaned, the redhead picking herself off the floor, holding her head with one hand as she picked up her knife with the other, wondering what the hell had happened.

The last thing she remembered, she'd been standing back to back with Ichirou, trying to spot the bastard that was taunting them in the dark, only for ng to grab her by the legs, dragging her through what had appeared to be an ordinary puddle. There had been a feeling of being submerged without actually getting wet, and then the redhead had been expelled from the portal, or whatever it was, landing on her side in a daze.

'Where…am I?' she wondered, looking around in confusion, only to blink as she took in her surroundings 'The academy roof?' she wondered 'But…didn't I get dragged somewhere? And why's it so quiet?'

It was quiet, EERILY so, the kind of quiet that was dark and forbidding, as if making a sound was an act of sacrilege. Kallen shivered, suddenly reminded of every horror movie she'd ever watched, several of which she recalled involving an abandoned school at night.

'Stupid Aniki and his creepy taste in movies…' she muttered, recalling how Naoto would make her watch the movies with him, regardless of her protests 'But that aside, where is everybody…' she blinked "Where's Ichirou?"

"K-Kallen…" a voice called out, the redhead turning, knife at the ready, only to gape as Ichirou stumbled towards her from the shadows, left hand on his right shoulder, right arm trailing limply, with blood dripping from his hand.

"Ichirou!" the redhead gasped, her unease with their current surroundings forgotten as she rushed to aid her friend, her hand going automatically to her hip-pack, which held a few medical supplies she'd packed for emergencies "Hang on! I'll bind your wound-!"

"K-Kallen…!" Ichirou called out, his eyes wide as he reached out imploringly to the redhead, even as a large shadow rose up behind him "Run-!"

Kallen froze, looking on in shock as a massive, claw-like appendage came out from behind Ichirou, grabbing him by the waist, lifting the screaming teen off his feet, before hurling him towards the far railing. Ichirou's body hit with a sickening crack, before falling in a broken heap to the floor.

"Pitiful." A mocking voice noted, Kallen turning from gaping at her fallen friend in shock to glaring at the figure that was leaning against the door to the roof, hidden by the shadows "I'd thought that he'd be a little tougher than that…I guess I was expecting too much from an eleven."

"Who the hell are you?!" Kallen snarled, the angered redhead moving to put herself in front of her friend's still form, her switchblade held at the ready as she glared at the figure "Are you the one that brought us here?!"

"Give the girl a prize." The figure applauded, clapping his hands mockingly, Kallen's eyes narrowing as she espied bronze glinting in the light "You must be the brains of the outfit…the others couldn't even figure out where they were."

"Others…?" Kallen repeated, blinking in confusion, only for her features to pale slightly in stunned realization, her grip tightening on the handle of her knife "You bastard…" she growled dangerously "what'd you do to my friends?"

"Why the same thing I'm going to do to you…" the figure replied, stepping out of the darkness, Kallen's eyes widening in disbelief at the sight of a tall figure in a black bodysuit with bronze armor, a weird, pincer shaped gauntlet on his left arm. His helmet had a vaguely crab-like appearance to it, and there was a golden crab like crest on an orange background adorning his belt "you filthy eleven monkey."

*******

_Ashford Academy, Roof..._

Back on the other side, Lelouch scowled as he forced his way to the front of the crowd, the Vice-President employing his rank, wit, and liberal use of his knees and elbows to get ahead of the confused troupe members and onlookers, finally stepping onto the roof of the building, where several gun totting members were staring at each other in confusion.

The Elder Lamperouge had been tailing the terrorists to see what the hell was going on, and had secretly applauded their destruction of Clovis' statue, seeing it as an improvement, only to slip away when Preston and his goon squad had turned up, not needing to be tied to this, even falsely. He'd been making his way back to the clubhouse when that now familiar sound had started up again, this time emanating from various points around the school. At first he'd assumed it was a random monster attack, but then he began to realize, after coming to examine each scene, that the creature(s) were purposely tracking the resistance members.

'Which mean's this isn't an ordinary monster attack.' He muttered, his eyes narrowing as he knelt next to the puddle on the roof that HADN'T been here earlier, his purple eyes flicking to the hastily discarded fire hose lying nearby 'This was deliberate…someone WANTED to lure them up here.'

He blinked, reaching for his phone as the Troupe members ran off to search the rest of the grounds, his eyes narrowing at the unfamiliar number as he picked up "Hello?"

"What're you waiting for?" C.C demanded over the line, causing Lelouch to jolt, holding the phone away from his ear at the sheer volume of the woman's annoyed, commanding tone "Get in after him!"

"How did you get this number?" Lelouch demanded, the elder Lamperouge glaring at his phone suspiciously, as only a VERY select few had such access to his personal phone, more than a little annoyed at the woman's attitude "And how the hell do you know what's going on?"

"I sensed a familiar presence coming from the roof of the academy." The green haired woman replied, her tone calm, as if she were talking to a small child "It's the same one that injured me before I met you, so be careful!"

"Who does she think she is?" the elder Lamperouge muttered, glaring at the phone as she hung up on him, before sighing, stashing it back into his blazer, reaching out to touch the surface of the puddle, eyes narrowing as it rippled beneath his touch.

*******

_Ashford Academy-The other side..._

"I have to admit…" the armored figure muttered, a hint of mocking respect in his tone as he held a struggling Kallen up by her neck "You put up a better fight than your little friends…I guess not all Elevens are the same…" he snorted "Still, I guess even trash has variety."

"S-Screw you!" Kallen spat, the battered redhead kicking out in defiance, only to wince as her boots impacted harmlessly against her tormentor's armored midriff, her hands pulling at his hand at her throat.

"I don't do last requests." The figure shot back mockingly, only to pause, his head tilting to the side, Kallen shivering as she felt his gaze wash over her "Although…" he mused "it would be a shame to let you go to waste…"

"Don't you fucking dare!" Kallen snarled, only to choke as his other fist punched her in the stomach, the redhead dropping as he released her, holding her midriff, only to be knocked to the floor by a savage backhand to the cheek.

"I don't recall asking for your opinion, bitch!" the figure snapped, stamping over to her and grabbing her by her hair, twisting it painfully back so she was looking up at him "I'm going to take my time with you, I might even let you LIVE afterwards, when I drag you to the Britannian forces."

"Like hell!" Kallen hissed, her hand lashing out, having drawn yet another knife blade from her sleeve, aiming for the eyesockets of the masked man's helemt, only for the blade to glance harmlessly off his masked cheek.

"You BITCH!" the figure snarled, swatting her weapon away, before knocking her to the floor, one hand going to her throat as the other tore her shirt open "To hell with it! Another Eleven corpse in the gutter's no difference to the authorities!"

'No!' Kallen yelled, her throat working desperately for air as she kicked out at her tormentor, her legs trapped beneath him as his free hand traveled down to her waist, gripping at her underwear 'Someone…anyone…! HELP!'

"Step away from the girl." A dark voice called out, the armored figure freezing, the hand he was using to suffocate Kallen relaxing slightly, allowing the redhead air as he turned to look behind him, Kallen following his gaze with a shocked stare.

Another armored figure stood in the moonlight, but unlike her tormentor, whose armor bore a crustacean motif, this one resembled one of the knights of old, a rapier at his hip, and a golden bat motif on a black background on his waist.

"What the hell?" her tormentor wondered, as if thrown for a loop by this new arrival, only to shrug, snorting in amusement "Oh, I get it, you were sent in to watch my back right?" he waved a hand at the knight "Well as you can see I have the matter in hand, so you can head on back-!"

"I said step away from the girl." The knight repeated, his tone decidedly dangerous as he stepped torwards the pair, his hand reaching for his rapier, drawing it with deliberate slowness for added effect "I won't warn you again."

"What the hell?" the crab muttered, glaring at the interloper in annoyance, only to scoff, nodding his head in understanding "Oh, I get it, you're trying to play 'good cop bad cop' to get this girl think you're on her side." He waved a hand "Well tough luck, I was here first, you'll have to make do with sloppy second-!"

The knight lashed out, his rapier cutting through the air, Kallen's eyes widening as it sliced into the crab's back, her tormentor letting out a pained yell as he rolled off her, the redhead scampering away, holding her clothes shut as she gaped at the duo.

*******

_The Fight..._

"You bastard!" the crab snarled, holding the small of his back, where a thin cut had been carved into his armor "I'll make you pay for that!" he vowed, reaching for his buckle, Kallen blinking as he drew a card of all things, opening his gauntlet and slotting it in, before closing it again.

**"STRIKE VENT!"**

Abruptly, another claw like gauntlet, this one lore like a crab's claw, appeared on the bronze figure's right arm. He charged forwards, his arms held wide as he advanced on the Knight, who calmly drew a card from his own buckle, slotting it into his rapier without any show of concern.

"**SWORD VENT**!"

The sound of flapping wings heralded the arrival of a giant bat, Kallen gaping at the creature in alarm as it dropped a large, lance like sword into her rescuer's waiting hand, the knight charging forward to meet his foe in a flurry of sparks.

They clashed, deadlocking for a second, before the crab kicked out, aiming for the knight's groin. The knight stepped back, as if expecting the blow, following it up with a horizontal slash that threw the crab off balance, the knight pressing his advantage by thrusting forwards, ramming the tip of his weapon into the crab's midriff, sending him sprawling to the floor several feet away.

"Dammit!" the crab snarled, holding his aching midriff, as he got to his knees, his hand going to his belt once again, drawing and slotting another card, even as the knight advanced on him, lance at the ready.

**"ATTACK VENT!"**

The knight cursed as he was blindsided by a large, crab-like humanoid, Kallen's eyes widening as she recognized the creature that had attacked Ichirou earlier. "So that's the way you want to play is it?" the knight wondered, his hand drawing another card from his belt, slotting it into his rapier, even as the monster and it's master bore down on him.

**"NASTY VENT!"**

Kallen blinked, looking up as the bat returned, only to cover her ears with a flinch, as It unleashed a deafening shriek that made her skull feel like it was about to split in two. It seemed her tormentor and his pet didn't like it either, the crab dropping to his knees, as his monster ran off, vanishing into the darkness.

"What's the matter?" the knight asked, apparently the only one unaffected by his summon's infernal shrieking as he advanced on his crustacean themed foe at a calm, sedate pace "Can't face the music?"

"You bastard…" the crab hissed, the orange armored warriro slowly getting to his feet with a growl as he drew yet another card from his belt, his entire frame trembling with rage "You'll pay for that!"

"The cheque's in the mail." The knight shot back, drawing another card from his belt himself, the two armored warriors slotting their respective cards in at the same the same time, snapping the cases shut with a clack.

**"FINAL VENT!"**

A pane of glass appeared behind the crab, his monster reappearing through it as he leapt up on its claws like an acrobat. While this was going on, the knight charged, his lance-sword at the ready, the giant bat from before flying in behind him, Kallen's eyes widening as it landed on his back, transforming into a dark cape, even as he leapt up into the air.

"****-!" the knight roared, coming down on his opponent foot first, his sword held point down, even as his cape wrapped around him, forming a giant black drill that crashed into the crab as he leapt off his monster mid-somersault, knocking him out of the air and continuing on to smash into the crab monster, which disappeared in a massive explosion.

*******

_Off to the side..._

Kallen blinked, the stunned redhead looking on in shock as her rescuer stood up, his cloak billowing behind him briefly in the updraft caused by the explosion, only to vanish, along with his lance-sword, leaving him with his rapier as turned to face her.

"Are you alright?" the knight asked, the redheaded half-Britannian blinking, following the knight's gaze, only to gasp and cover herself self consciously, her eyes averted in shame as her rescuer stepped forwards with concern "Did he hurt you?"

"N-no…I'm alright." Kallen assured him, her features flushing slightly, wondering how on earth she'd gotten into this mess as she turned to look at her savior, only to blink as he knelt down in front of her, a hand extended.

"Come on." The knight offered, his voice laced with concern and a surprsing gentility as he extended his hand towards her "It's not safe here," he pointed out "we should get out of here before-!"

"No…" a voice called out, the duo whipping round as the crab warrior slowly got to his feet, the knight stepping in front of Kallen, his rapier held before him in warning, only to pull up short as they stared at their foe.

"What…is this?" the crab wondered, looking down at his hands, dust particles rising rapidly from them, his body slowly starting to disappear "No…No!" he yelled, his head turning to the duo, reaching out to them desperately "This can't be happening! Not to me! I'm a Britannian! I'm an-!"

Whatever the crab was about to say was cut off, Kallen and her savior looking on in shock as his body rapidly dissolved to dust on the air, leaving no trace, save for his orange belt buckle, which clattered to the ground, the golden crab emblem glinting morosely in the moonlight, a silent testament to where it's owner had fallen.

* * *

Lelouch: That...was Awesome.

C.C: Well plot out for a first rider battle.

Kallen: It was okay I guess...

Lelouch: Kallen are you blushing?

**GAZELLE PUNCH!**

C.C: *Looking down at Lelouch's unconcious form* VERY mature...

**HEAD SHOT!**

Kyugan: *Sweatdrops* Christ you're scary when you're off your pill.

**RADIANT WAVE!**

Kallen: I'm not on a pill!

R.R: *Eyes splattered remains* Perhaps you should be...Review to heal the idiot and get the next chapter out.


	7. Chapter 7

Kallen: God DAMN but that one took a while.

Lelouch: Tell me about it...why is their a moustache on my face?

C.C: I couldn't answer, Monsieur...

Lelouch: I can SEE the marker witch. How come you didn't mark Kyugan?

C.C: He was pretty much a puddle, what do you expect me to draw on?

Kyugan: Backwards In Is Brain My Think I. *Hold's up Advent Deck, Upside down* Ride Lets.

* * *

A tale of two worlds.

'What the hell?' Lelouch wondered, the armored Lamperouge gaping in stunned disbelief at the spot where, not moments before, had stood his crustacean foe, his eyes resting on the advent deck that was the sole remains of the other rider.

"Um…what just happened?" Kallen called out, Lelouch turning, gazing gown at the girl who was looking between him and the advent deck in terrified confusion "What…what did you do to him?"

"Wish I knew…" Lelouch admitted, slowly walking up to the deck and picking it up, the redhead looking up at him in confusion as he shook his head "Forget it for now." He muttered, walking back over to her with a hint of determination "We need to get you out of here before…"

"Wait!" Kallen insisted, the redhead turning to look at Ichirou's still form, only to gape as it slowly began to dissolve, like the crab warrior had not moments before "No!"

"It's too late for him!" Lelouch insisted, the armoured Lamperouge grabbing the girl by her shoulder and dragging her, forcefully, towards the puddle on the roof "C'mon!"

"ICHIROU!" Kallen yelled reaching for her fallen friend desperately, only to once again be submerged in that weird, watery transition space, the redhead stumbling out of the Knight's embrace as she fell to the floor.

"Sorry…" Lelouch muttered the armored Lamperouge sounding a little shaky as he stood over her "I'm still not used to the transition myself." He reached out to her shoulder "Are you alright-!"

"Don't touch me!" Kallen snapped, slapping out at him with her hand, tears streaming down her cheeks as she glared up at him, heedless of her stinging hand "Why? Why'd you leave Ichirou behind!"

"He was already dead." Lelouch replied, the armoured Lamperouge's tone gentle, but firm "As were all the others I found…I'm sorry, but you were the only survivor."

"No…" Kallen muttered, her eyes wide with disbelief as she felt the strength leave her, falling on all fours before the armored Lamperouge "All of them…because of me…"

"They were ready to die." Lelouch pointed out, the redhead looking up at him in surprise, the teen shocking himself at his choice of words "The moment they decided to fight against Britannia, they were already prepared to risk their lives."

Kallen blinked, wiping a tear away from her eyes with her finger as she stared up at the armored finger in surprise, and more than a little awe, only to flinch as the sound of pursuit echoed up from the grounds below.

"You should get out of here." Lelouch rightfully assumed, the armored Lamperouge holding out one gloved hand towards the redhead "Come on…let's go."

"Is there someone up here?" a voice called out, the duo flinching, looking up in alarm as a familiar figure appeared in the doorway, looking winded, and confused "Eh?"

'Suzaku!' Lelouch cursed, gritting his teeth as he tackled Kallen, knocking the girl back into the puddle before the honorary Britannian could get a good look at them.

* * *

_seconds later..._

"Hello?" Suzaku called out, the emerald eyed teen wincing regretfully as his shout caused his forehead to twinge "If there's anyone out here, please say something!"

"You there!" a voice called out, the teen turning to find several members of the Self-Governing Troupe standing behind him "What are you doing up here?"

"I heard there were terrorists on the roof and came to investigate." Suzaku replied, noting in alarm that some of the troupe members were carrying guns "But forget that, why are you carrying those?"

"I'm the one asking questions here Eleven!" the leader of the Troupe demanded, aiming his firearm at the teen's face "How do we know you aren't here to help the Terrorists escape?"

Suzaku's reply was to slap the teen's arm aside, twisting it behind the teen's back as he pulled him to the ground in a textbook military hold. "If were a terrorist, you'd be dead by now." The honorary Britannian muttered, looking down at the terrified Troupe member, before glaring up at his stunned followers "I'm Private Suzaku Kururugi of the Britannian Military, as such, I am ordering you all to turn in your firearms and come with me."

'They may only be a bunch of overeager wannabe peacekeepers.' Suzaku muttered, looking on as the troupe members disarmed 'But that doesn't give them the right to carry weapons, nor use them on civilian property.'

Needless to say, the Dean was going to have a VERY interesting report to look over this evening.

* * *

_With Lelouch and Kallen..._

"What're you doing?" Kallen demanded, flushing in embarrassment at how her chest pressed up against her rescuers breastplate as he carried her back through the puddle to the mirror-academy "If we go back there-!"

"We're not staying long." Lelouch assured her, the armored Lamperouge helping her to her feet as they came out the other side once again "We'll escape using the mirrors, there should be a way out through the pool area if I remember right…"

Kallen blinked, looking up at her savior in confusion, only to follow after him, averting her eyes from the spot where Ichirou's body had lain, her comrade having completely dissolved, the two of them marching into the abandoned school together.

"So…what is this place?" she asked, shivering slightly as she took in the deserted hallways of the academy "Why's everything back-to-front?"

"You're better off not knowing." Lelouch replied, his tone grim as he considered the irony of that last statement, even as he guided the way to the pool, making a slight mental note after the first wrong turn that the directions were reversed as well.

"Forget I asked then…" Kallen muttered, a little hurt by her savior's dismissive tone, walking along with one hand holding her ruined clothes together, her eyes warily eyeing the shadows, in case more monsters rose up to greet them.

Fortunately, after the first wrong turn, Lelouch quickly got used to navigating the halls of the Mirror-academy, the two of them slipping into the Ashford academy pool hall. "Wait…" Kallen muttered, the redhead eyeing the water in suspicion "Don't tell me you want us to…"

"Of course not." The armored Lamperouge assured her, grabbing a nearby bucket and scooping up a load of water, kicking the back door open as he went "If we came back through the hall we'd be trapped, the doors are alarmed after hours to prevent people messing with the supplies." He gestured towards the back gate of the academy "We'll go out that way."

"Works for me." Kallen muttered, shivering slightly in the nighttime air, watching on as the knight tossed the water on the sidewalk, before gesturing for her to jump in. She did so, tumbling out the other end with a curse as the contents of her abused hip-pack fell out.

"The coast appears to be clear." Lelouch muttered, the armored Lamperouge looking around for the Troupe members as he spoke "You should get out of here while you can."

"Wait a sec!" Kallen hissed, the redhead's hands scrabbling madly for her spilt belongings in the dirt and grass, cursing the lack of light "I can't leave any of these behind!"

"Of all the…!" Lelouch muttered, turning to glare at her in annoyance from behind his visor, only to freeze as he espied something she'd just picked up "That's-?"

"Huh?" Kallen wondered, turning to look at her armored savior in confusion "You mean this?" she asked, holding up a dark, rectangular object "It was my brother's…a friend of mine said he had it on him when he was killed by the Britannians…" she trailed off, looking down at the object sadly "It's all I have to remember him by."

'An advent deck!' Lelouch muttered, his eyes narrowing at the dangerous tool the redhead unassumingly held in her hands 'Of all the places to find one!'

"Hey!" A voice called out, the duo looking up as several flashlights shined around the back of the pool hall "I thought I heard something back here!"

"I gotta go!" Kallen muttered, the redhead stuffing the deck back into her pouch before clambering up the gates and over the other side like a monkey "Whoever you are, thanks for the assist, I owe ya!"

"Wait!" Lelouch called out, only to curse, pounding on the gate as she ran off, only to blink, reaching down to pick up an object by his feet, his eyes narrowing at it briefly, before stepping back into the puddle and disappearing.

* * *

_That Night..._

"Welcome home…" C.C greeted, the green haired woman standing by the window, her golden eyes shining in the moonlight as Lelouch slipped back into his room "I see you survived."

"Cut the crap." Lelouch muttered, slamming the advent deck he'd retrieved from the other rider down on the desk beside her "What in the hell happened to that guy? Why'd he disintegrate like that?"

"It's one of the downsides of the contract." C.C replied, her features calm in the face of Lelouch's anger "When a Rider's armor suffers too much damage, or his contract beast is destroyed, the rider is 'Vented', much like the contract beasts they destroy."

"Why didn't you tell me about that?" Lelouch demanded, glaring into the woman's golden eyes with his purple ones "What if I'd been the one to get vented?"

"Then I guess I'd have to have finished the job myself." C.C mused, sighing at the look of irate fury on the elder Lamperouge's face "Oh relax, I was confident you'd come back…almost."

"You bitch…" Lelouch muttered, but was too tired to put much emotion into it, the elder Lamperouge collapsing on his bed with a grunt "In any case, he's gone…" he eyed the woman suspiciously "Who was he? An old boyfriend?"

"Jealous?" C.C asked, only to smile wryly as Lelouch scoffed, an amused look in her golden eyes "Fortunately not, he's one of the reasons I came to your world in the first place."

"I take it has something to do with these Advent Decks" Lelouch muttered, the elder Lamperouge pulling out his own, even as he eyed the one on the desk "Am I right?"

"I was the one that created the Advent Decks." C.C admitted, smirking coyly at Lelouch's quirked eyebrow "What? Does that surprise you? I'll have you know I'm quite the scientists."

"I'll bet." Lelouch muttered, the elder Lamperouge letting his purple eyes roam over her lithe, suggestive form calculatingly "So what are the Decks doing here?"

"I designed them to be used to defend Termina from the influx of monster attacks." C.C admitted, her tone grim as she picked up at the crab deck, an unreadable expression on her face "I was nearing completion of the prototype decks, before I began to suspect that someone was planning to use them for their own means."

"I can understand why." Lelouch muttered, turning his own deck over in his hands, his thoughts whirling as he considered the possibilities of having several more at his command.

"It won't do you any good to get greedy." C.C pointed out, her smile smug, "I built a security lock on each deck, once a rider has contracted the deck can only be used by that rider."

"Smart of you." Lelouch noted, the elder Lamperouge's tone approving, even as he cursed internally, as this revelation dashed his plans to hell in their infancy "So what happened?"

"As I said, I suspected someone from my world was after the decks for themselves." C.C continued, her tone grim "There were increases in monster attacks, and pushing from the top brass to complete the decks. In the end, I and my assistant sought help from YOUR world, a man by the name of Charles."

"The Britannian Emperor?" Lelouch demanded, his eyes widening in alarm at this latest revelation, the image of his father's imperial stare looking down on him from on high washing over him.

"That's correct." C.C nodded, "he was most sympathetic to our cause, and agreed to offer his assistance in liberating our people, offering them asylum whilst supplying me with the materials needed to complete my research in secret." She smiled warmly "He and my assistant even hit it off." Her features darkened "But then one day…just as I'd completed twelve functional decks, not including my own, he turned on us."

"Should have seen that coming." Lelouch muttered, earning a look from the witch "I know the emperor better than anyone, he's the one that threw Nunnally and myself aside like scrap, after he covered up my mother's murder."

"It seems we have a common enemy…" C.C mused, her tone coy as she leant against the wall, her arms folded across her waist, the crab deck held in one hand "Be that as it may, he's not one we can underestimate, I was only able to escape with my Advent deck because he didn't know I had it. I've been trying to locate the other decks for years, but he's hidden them well."

She nodded towards the deck in Lelouch's hands "I only managed to retrieve yours because someone brought it, and several others, here to study, I'm guessing whoever it was did so without the emperor's permission."

"Then it was probably someone with the clearance to do so." Lelouch mused "Someone who'd never be the subject of an investigation, which means he has special immunity." He smirked "That narrows the list of possible culprits to members of the royal family."

"Of whom I do believe the current viceroy is a member." C.C agreed, smiling coyly at the elder Lamperouge as she spoke "You're quite the clever one, aren't you?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Lelouch countered, smirking up at the woman "I'm not helping you out of the goodness of my heart…we simply have a common enemy, as you stated."

"The old 'you scratch my back' situation." C.C noted, nodding her head in understanding, a wry smirk on her lips "Fair enough, you help me retrieve the advent decks…"

"And in return," Lelouch nodded, his eyes fierce as he matched the woman's piercing golden stare with his own "you will help me CRUSH Britannia."

"Then we have a deal." C.C noted, smiling as she held out her left hand, only to pause, and switch to her right "I keep forgetting, this is how your people shake, correct?"

"It is." Lelouch admitted, smirking as he held out his own hand to accept the woman's, the two of them shaking briefly, as the moon shone through the curtains.

"So, what shall we do now?" C.C asked, dropping his hand as she looked down at the elder Lamperouge "Now that we know who our enemy is, you want to go in and challenge him right away? It's more than likely he has at least a few more of the decks about his person."

"Not just yet." Lelouch assured her, his eyes calculative "Clovis may be an idiot, but he's no fool. He's probably got the decks guarded somewhere." He nodded in thought as he reached into his back pocket "and besides," he muttered, pulling out a photo of three people, a young man, a woman and a redheaded girl "I know where one of the other decks is already."

"I see…" C.C noted, her golden eyes running over the features of the people in the picture carefully, almost wistfully, before turning to her new comrade inquisitively "What do you want to do?"

"First? I'm going to take a shower." Lelouch muttered, standing up stiffly, wincing as his ribs popped from where the crab monster had rammed into him "Then I'm going to hit the sack…this superhero stuff is harder than it looks…"

* * *

_Stadtfeld manor..._

Kallen sighed as she slipped back into the Stadtfeld manor, the redhead having bypassed the security systems on the grounds, making good use of the ivy-clad wall to reach her bedroom.

'What a night…' she muttered, wincing at the hollow feeling that had followed her all the way back, wondering how she was going to explain the deaths of her team to Ohgi. Their cell was supposed to meet up with the main group for a strategy meeting that night, as Ohgi had been planning an assault on the settlements. While she doubted the other adults would miss their cell, since they wouldn't have been given TOO dangerous a task, Ohgi would likely notice her absence and call her on it later.

'Problems for another day…' Kallen muttered, sighing in exhaustion as she stripped down to her underwear, tossing her bra onto the floor as she collapsed face first on her bed, completely spent from the evening's activity.

'Who was that guy?' she wondered, her face pressed between her pillow as she recalled the strange, armored knight that had come to her rescue, and his epic battle with the crab-warrior 'And what was the deal with those cards?'

She blinked, sitting up slightly on her bed as she reached for her pouch, which was lying on her nightstand, reaching into it and pulling out the weird deck that her brother, Naoto, had had on him when he died. All Ohgi had been able to tell her when she'd asked was that Naoto and his cell had broken into a Britannian research facility, which they suspected was developing some sort of chemical weapon to use on the resistance. Only Naoto had made it back alive, and had died shortly afterwards, mumbling something about 'Contract…' and 'Monsters…', before finally passing away.

'That guy seemed to know what this was.' She noted, frowning at the way her armored rescuer had tensed at the sight of the deck 'Could he know something about what Naoto saw that night?'

Sighing, holding the deck to her chest as she lay on her back, the redhead reached for her pouch, fingers fumbling inside, only to sit up, her eyes wide in alarm as she ferreted through the case, her eyes wide in horror.

'No!' she stammered, shaking the pouch empty in disbelief 'I can't believe I lost my photo! If anyone finds it-!'

So frantic was she in her distress that the redhead didn't notice the long, looping figure that drifted past her window, coiling around her house in expectation, crimson scales shining in the reflected moonlight.

* * *

_Clovis' palace..._

'He's late…' Clovis muttered, his eyes narrowed as he glared at the clock on his mantelpiece, the prince dressed in an evening smoking jacket over his silk pajamas, a glass of wine in his hand as he waited for Preston to make his report.

He'd met Richie Preston during one of his many extravagant parties, the boy's father having finally decided that his heir should consort with their peers. Truth be told, Preston senior wasn't all that special, having virtually no skill in piloting Knightmares and even less ability to command his troops. But Clovis kept him around because the man had a gilded tongue, and the prince was always open to flattery in copious amounts.

Preston junior, on the other hand, the Viceroy had instantly taken a liking to. Young, charismatic, and steadfastly loyal to the empire's goals, the perfect picture, in Clovis' definition, of how a young Britannian Noble should be.

The teen had even impressed the 3rd prince with his forming of an independent disciplinary committee, his 'Self Governing Troupe', within the walls of Ashford Academy. Ashford had always been a sore point for Clovis, as the dean there, Reuben Ashford, refused to fully submit to the viceroy's whims and expel all the filthy eleven brats that STILL dared to traverse the halls.

The problem was, reduced circumstances or not, Reuben Ashford still had friends in high places, and Clovis wasn't about to rock the boat any more than he had to. As it were, he'd made regular 'concessions' to the academy, such as a statue of himself, and a mandate that one week be set aside each season for art appreciation.

But through Richie, Clovis had discovered a way to ensure the Elevens knew their place in the new hierarchy, a way to expand his influence without that old buzzard finding out until it was too late.

So he'd taken the boy aside, pretended to confide in him, as even HE knew the folly in explaining EVERYTHING to a teenager, who were notoriously loose lipped, and presented him with one of the few Advent decks he'd managed to swipe out from under his father's nose.

The decks were enchanting, and Clovis had been under their spell from the moment he learned of them. Imagine, all that power, just sitting there, waiting for the right man to claim it.

Which is why he'd bribed several of the researchers working on them to allow him to 'borrow' a few for his own, 'independent studies', the 3rd prince quickly accepting the position of Viceroy to get out from under his father's eyes, bringing his 'acquired' decks and personal research team with him.

There had been some minor inconveniences that had disrupted his research, such as frequent attacks by the Elevens on his forces, but all it had required was a little bait and they were picked off one by one by the creatures behind the mirrors.

The only REAL inconvenience had been when a group of Elevens breached the facility the previous year. Clovis had been assured they'd all been disposed of, but one of the Advent Decks was later reported to have gone missing. Needless to say the head of security soon lost HIS.

'And then HE showed up…' the prince muttered, his eyes narrowing as he recalled the strange, cloaked figure that assaulted his men, wiping out the mirror monsters with the ease of much practice 'Could it be…one of the Elevens figured out how to use the Advent Decks?'

Impossible, it had taken Clovis and his team months of dedicated study to figure out how to get the decks to work, there was no way some uncultured eleven monkeys had managed it, and gotten so proficient with it, in so short a time.

'Princeton mentioned that whoever it was, they were far too skilled to be a simple rebel.' The viceroy muttered, his features grim as he stared into his wine glass 'Could it be…a member of the JLF?'

He scowled, sipping idly at his wine as he mused over the latest wrinkle in his plans, before downing the rest of the glass in one go, hurling it into his fireplace as he rose to his feet, his patience at an end as he stormed out of the room, as it appeared that Preston wasn't going to show up that evening.

'Ungrateful little cur.' The viceroy muttered, allowing his maids to help him out of his smoking jacket as he prepped for bed 'He could have at least sent me a message to let me know he wasn't coming.'

Little did Clovis know, as he slipped under the silken sheets of his overly-decorated bed, that his little 'watchdog' had been put down, and wouldn't be scampering to him with reports for the foreseeable future.

* * *

Lelouch: So Clovis is the puppet master.

C.C: Some things never change.

Kallen: HEY! What's with the spy camera you freak!

Kyugan: Naked Buck Sleeps who One The Not I'm.

Kallen: It Gets hot in that stuffy mansion!

C.C: Hot doing what?

R.R: *Grimaces as sound of chainsaw surgery roars to life* Review Vent for updates.


End file.
